The Thing From Another Dimension
by goofnutgav
Summary: I have lived my life taking things for granted, only to lose everything and face an unspeakable horror until I became something less than human and found myself in a world where death is just around the corner. This is the story of how I became the adopted father of an orphan by the name of Naruto and is hated and feared for what I am, a monster that assimilates everything.
1. Chapter 1

I was sitting in dad's car as we were driving to the airport, feeling less than happy at what dad had decided to call an "Adventure of a lifetime" but all we were doing was going to Antarctica so that dad would conduct research for a few months with nothing but strangers to keep us company during that time.

"I see that look...come on, Seth, I know you're not happy but please try and look like you're excited to travel the world," Dad reasoned and I shot him a scowl as I crossed my arms and huffed.

"You're dragging me on this trip and I'm going to be who knows how many miles from home and unable to talk to my friends...yeah, really exciting," I grumbled sarcastically and dad frowned.

"Seth, you're seventeen so there's no need to pout and act like a five-year-old. I took you with me on this trip because I want to spend more time with you and get you away from your computer so that you could socialize more," Dad stated with a sigh as we drove off the highway and was arriving at the airport.

"Dad, we're going to be staying in a research base out in the middle of nowhere with strangers I don't even know so you know I'm not comfortable around new people," I admitted uneasily and dad looked at me with a sympathetic expression.

"I know, son, but it'll only be for a few months so just bear with it and let me know if you're feeling overwhelmed so that I can help you adjust," Dad reassured and I reluctantly nodded in agreement as we pulled up to the gate and dad showed his clearance to the security officer manning the gate, then the woman opened the gate and we drove to the hanger where our plane was waiting for us.

Once we pulled up to the hanger, we got out and took our bags before heading to the hanger and entering it to see someone waiting for us.

"Dr. Mercer, it's good to see you," the man greeted as he and my dad shook their hands.

"Henry, I'm glad you're here to see us off," Dad said with a pleasant smile as Henry looked at me.

"And this must be your son, Seth. Nice to meet you, Seth, I'm Henry Richards and I'm an old friend of your father," Henry introduced as he held out a hand and I timidly reached out to shake it while barely keeping eye contact with him.

"N-Nice to meet you...sir," I mumbled and Henry chuckled good-naturedly.

"It's okay, you don't have to be shy with me and call me Henry since everyone calls me that," Henry assured while I hesitantly looked up at him.

"Okay...Henry," I said quietly and dad rested a hand on my shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Son, why don't you put the bags in the plane while I chat with Henry," Dad offered since he most likely knew that I was uncomfortable, then I nodded as I took the bags filled with winter clothing and other supplies before I went into the plane and loaded the bags into a large metal container while my dad was talking to Henry.

Once I was finished, I closed the lid of the container and made sure it was secure just as dad entered the plane and he shut the door.

"How's our bags?" Dad inquired and I gave him a thumbs-up, causing him to nod while he sat down in one of the pilot seats and I followed suit as we buckled ourselves in and dad put on a headset before passing one to me and I put it on.

Dad contacted the control tower for clearance and was given the go-ahead until dad started up the plane and we slowly inched out of the hanger, the sound of the single propeller roaring as we headed onto the runway and gained speed in preparation for takeoff. When we pick up enough speed, dad pulled back the joystick and I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach as we lifted into the air and I closed my eyes as I took a few deep breaths to remain calm.

Once the sinking feeling went away, I opened my eyes and saw that we were high up in the sky and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in, just as dad looked at me and patted my shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?" Dad asked in concern and I sent him a shaky smile.

"Yeah, I'm just nervous is all," I told him and dad focused on piloting the plane.

"Don't worry, I'm right here so take a deep breath and you'll be just fine," Dad reassured and I sighed while I looked out the window to see that we were leaving the city of Miami and traveling south across the ocean to Antarctica so I sat back and took a little nap until then.

After a while, I had woken up and checked my smartphone for the time when I saw that a few hours have passed by and I noticed that the sun had gone down while we were passing through a light snowstorm and I yawned as I stretched to get rid of the crick in my neck, getting my dad's attention as I looked out the window and saw that we were flying over a snowy wasteland.

"Good evening, sleeping beauty. How was your nap?" Dad asked and I shrugged.

"Eh, not exactly comfortable but it's better than nothing. Are we close?" I inquired and dad shook his head.

"Almost, just have one more mile to go until we arrive at the research facility," Dad informed me as I looked out the window to see that the storm was picking up and I knew that it'll get dangerous if we don't arrive soon.

I took out my earphones and plugged them into my phone before listening to my music to pass the time, then everything vibrated and shook slightly which cause me to let out a slight gasp as I took out my earphones and looked at my dad.

"Dad, what the hell was that?" I asked nervously.

"It's alright, Seth, just a slight turbulence so we'll be fine," Dad reassured as I let out a shaky sigh.

"Okay...if you say so," I said anxiously as I checked my seatbelt to make sure it was secure and noticed that the storm had turned into a blizzard that was raging outside.

Suddenly, the plane jerked violently and I snapped forward but the seatbelt prevented me from smashing my head against the console, then I looked at my dad to see him appearing alarmed as he was fiddling with the panel.

"Dad?!" I yelped in a complete panic as the console started beeping like crazy.

"Don't worry, son, we're going to be okay," Dad assured but the tone in his voice didn't fill me with confidence and the front of the plane tilted until we were starting to drop out of the sky, which filled me with terror.

"Dad, we're going to crash!" I exclaimed in alarm and dad swore under his breath as he reached for the radio and tried to contact anyone that was in the area.

As we were falling from the sky, I gripped my straps and let out quick frequent breaths of pure terror as dad issued a mayday but no one responded and dad tried to angle the plane so that we could make an emergency landing.

"Oh God...the controls are not responding! Seth, brace yourself!" Dad yelled as we braced for impact and screamed as the plane got closer to the ground, then everything went black when we hit the ground.

* * *

Unknown to my dad and me, something ancient and horrible beyond our darkest nightmares was out there hybernating in the snowy wasteland, then the plane crashed into the ground and broke apart which caused the unknown creature to stir and awaken after sleeping for so many years since escaping that nearby human settlement in self-preservation and to prevent itself from being destroyed by the humans with their weapons that unleashed fire.

The creature became more active and started to thaw out once it moved around enough and it dug its way out of the icy ground, taking in the fresh air after being frozen for so long but what caught its interest was that someone had arrived in this cold landscape by plane, judging by the knowledge of Earth's technology it acquired from assimilating its prey and the plane appeared to have crashed due to the heavy storm but the creature could care less since more prey had arrived and it was only a matter of time until they became a part of it so that the Thing could spread and survive.

The Thing examined itself and saw that its current form was too frightening for its new prey, so it would take the form of the four-legged Earth creature to fool its new prey as it had done to the previous humans in that small settlement so many years ago. The creature lowered itself to the ground and its form made horrific snapping and crunching noises as blood and gore pooled underneath it, its form altering in a most disturbing fashion as fur grew in, its body changing into a canine shape and pretty soon, an Alaskan Malamute was standing in the monster's place as it sniffed the air to try and catch the scent of its prey.

The shapeshifting alien creature caught the faint scent of smoke and burning gasoline nearby and its cold calculated mind formulated a strategy as it started taking off into the night, eager to locate its prey and show them what it's like to be a part of it while continuing its original plan to spread across the planet now that the irritating humans known as Kate, Blake, and MacReady were long gone and quite possibly died not too long ago.

* * *

Pain, that was the first thing I felt when I was regaining consciousness and I groaned as I opened my eyes to see that I was laying on my back and freezing from the heavy snowstorm that continued to rage on. I carefully sat up and hissed in pain when my ribs protested from my current decision, clutching my side as I struggled to stand up and started rubbing my arms to try and warm myself up from the freezing cold.

I looked around and saw the plane, feeling stunned to see it in half with the wings completely gone and wondered how the hell I survived that when I should've died. At that moment, I remembered that my dad was in the plane when it crashed and panic rose up at the thought of my dad being seriously hurt or worse as I stumbled to the plane and froze up when I saw my dad. My dad was still in the pilot seat but he was slumped against the console and the sight of him not even moving made me move fast, ignoring my ribs flaring up at the sudden movement as I entered the upper half of the plane and reached my father.

I tried to talk to him, but the pain flared up and I was resorted to simply grabbing his shoulder and shaking him, only there was no reaction and I pulled him back until I saw the horrifying sight of his abdomen impaled by a very large piece of shrapnel and blood covered his part of the console.

"Dad?" I wheezed as I stared at my father's blank gaze and tears started welling up at seeing that my father was dead.

I felt like breaking down while tears ran down my cheeks and anguish-filled sobs escaped my mouth, but I knew that I had to dress up in my winter clothes and look for help or I would join my father by freezing to death and we had taken a limited supply of food and water so that would run out soon if I didn't man up and kept going to find help.

"I'm so fucking sorry, dad...I love you," I whimpered while I was weeping and sniffled as I turned away and headed to the bottom half of the plane where the supplies were secured.

I wiped my eyes as I entered the bottom half of the plane and saw the container still secured by the straps that were bolted to the floor, then I stumbled to the container and opened it to get my bag and dad's as I opened mine and pulled out a heavy parka with gloves and a sweater along with a scarf and winter pants while also taking out insulated socks and boots. I put on the winter clothing while my ribs and other injuries stung from the excess movement and flipped the hood over my head after I placed goggles over my eyes to protect them from the storm.

I gathered the food and water supplies, along with firewood, a flashlight, and a compass while also taking a survival knife and a map of Antarctica just in case as I packed them in my backpack and put it on. I adjusted the straps of my backpack and left the bottom half of the plane before taking out my compass and my map and looking through it to find the correct route.

_'Shit, thank God for my time in the Scouts or I'll have no idea what the fuck I'm doing right now,'_ I thought as I put away my map and used my compass to guide me as I started walking in the direction of where the research facility was at, hoping that I'll make it in time but I'll have to set up camp during my trek across the snowy tundra or I'll die out here where nobody would find me.

* * *

The creature had been following the scent of smoke and burning gasoline for a short time and ignored the cold since it was long used to it, not to mention that the thought of more prey to assimilate made it more eager to find the human or humans so that it could spread even further and finally escape this icy landscape. As it moved through the heavy snowstorm, the creature spotted a flickering light in the distance and pushed itself even harder as its powerful canine muscles rippled and flexed during its run to the crash site.

Eventually, the creature got closer to the light until it arrived at the crash site and saw a small plane that was meant for two humans and cargo, only the plane was in half and both pieces were near each other while some of the debris was in flames and the creature approached the wreckage to search for any survivors. After the creature entered the front half, it found a dead human that had died in a gruesome manner and it picked up the scent of another one that appeared to be a juvenile that was almost an adult so it came to the conclusion that the second human was the spawn of the first human.

The creature looked around for the youngling but couldn't find the human anywhere, which meant that the human was alive and had left the area but that also meant that the human knows that its male caregiver is not alive so it couldn't assimilate the older male and get the younger one to drop its guard. It was a minor inconvenience, but it still had its dog form so the human would never suspect that it wasn't what it appeared to be until it was too late.

The creature kept searching for any sign of where the human went and picked up its scent before finding a trail of footprints that lead out of the crash site and was starting to fade, then the creature knew that it didn't have much time left before it lost the human's trail so it followed the footprints and noticed that the human was unknowingly heading to the old destroyed human settlement the creature escaped from so many years ago and came up with a plan that would work in its favor while it chased after the human.

The creature's false flesh started wriggling from what appeared to be worms moving under its skin and the creature licked its muzzle in anticipation at the thought of the warm body it would consume and that the human would have no idea what was coming its way.

* * *

I didn't know how long I was traveling and had checked my phone, only there was no signal and frustration was setting in since I wasn't seeing the research facility yet but I eventually saw something in the distance, though it was too dark to see and I took out my flashlight before turning it on and aiming it at the thing I spotted. It was hard to see because of the storm, but the light shone on what appeared to be a large compound in the distance and I could see a metal sign propped up nearby as it was covered in snow.

Feeling relieved that I had found help, I quickly rushed over to the sign and started wiping away the snow in the hopes that I had found the research facility but I was stunned when I saw that the sign was coated with rust from years of neglect and I knew that this place wasn't the facility since the people working in the building wouldn't leave the sign in such a bad condition.

"Are you fucking shitting me...I'm lost?" I wondered in disbelief as I quickly took out the map to see if I had made a wrong turn, only to feel horrified when I had noticed that the map was upside down and that I had been going the wrong way the entire time.

"Okay, is this is a fucking joke?! I went the wrong way the entire Goddamn time?!" I exclaimed in frustration and proceeded to cuss up a storm at my bad luck and scolded myself for not checking the map more clearly, then I realized that the facility was miles away now and going back would be signing my own death warrant since I had to take shelter fast before I died of hypothermia.

_'Well, nothing I can do but see if this place is still intact so that I can take shelter in it,' _I thought reluctantly and before I headed to the main building, I took out my knife and gently scraped the rust off of the sign until it was more legible and started reading it to see what this place was.

"Research Outpost 31: Property of the US Government...huh," I mumbled as I backed away from the sign and turned my attention to the compound that was nearby.

_'This place used to be an American research facility? How come there's no information about it on the internet? I checked Wikipedia on the research facilities in the Antarctic before dad and I left for the airport but there's nothing about this one,'_ I thought as something about this didn't feel right and I've had the feeling that I'm being followed ever since I left the crash site.

I looked around in a sudden bout of paranoia but inwardly kicked myself since the only thing I had to be worried about out here were polar bears and other wild animals that would either attack me by being provoked or hungry so I had nothing to worry about as long as I keep my distance and try not to piss off the local wildlife. I shook my head and shivered at the freezing cold as I passed the sign and approached the compound, then I got a good look at the building and was shocked to see it looking pretty much nearly destroyed from what appeared to be massive explosions of some kind.

I also saw an old 1980s destroyed helicopter and snowcats just sitting near the building while what appeared to be a communication's tower was on its side and covered in snow just like the vehicles, then I noticed a wrecked shack near the main building and saw that it was in a bad condition like everything else which made me wonder what the hell happened here that ended in the entire main building almost being completely destroyed.

I decided not to think about it too much since I could see a path that led down into a pit that looked like the ground caved in and I followed it in the hopes that there was a nice warm place for me to take shelter in due to the main building not looking like it had many places that would shelter me from the storm, then I spotted what looked like part of the building that had fallen into the pit and entered it while avoiding the sharp metal edges before finding an old tape recorder.

"Shit, they don't make these recorders anymore," I muttered as I checked it and saw that it looked to be in an okay condition, despite having a few scratches on it and I pushed the play button so that I could gain information on what happened here and felt surprised that it started playing while an exhausted male voice started speaking with a lack of hope in his tone of voice.

"I'm going to hide this tape when I'm finished so if none of us make it, at least there'll be some kind of a record. The storm's been hitting us pretty hard for the past 48 hours and we still have nothing to go on...one other thing, I think it rips through your clothes when it takes you over. Windows found some shredded long johns but the name tag was missing, so it could be anybody's...nobody-nobody trusts anyone now.

We're all very tired and there's nothing I can do, just wait. R.J MacReady, helicopter pilot, US Outpost 31," MacReady said before the tape stopped and I just stared at the recorder while a cold chill went down my spine at his tone of voice.

"Jesus...what the fuck happened here that would've caused him to sound like that?" I wondered uneasily and hearing MacReady saying about something taking over and ripping that person's clothes made me feel confused by what he's saying but the way he sounded so sure of himself unnerved me slightly since something seriously bad happened here a long time ago that made the occupants completely paranoid and distrustful of each other.

I concluded that cabin fever must've got to them and everyone in the facility went crazy, but I couldn't shake the sinking feeling that there was more to the story that I wasn't seeing yet and decided to file it away for now as I left the broken room and spotted a cave nearby that looked like it was mined.

I headed to the cave and went in before taking out my flashlight and used it to help me navigate the corridor, then I entered a big room and paused with my eyes completely wide in disbelief as I saw what appeared to be an alien spaceship that looked old but it was unfinished like someone was in the process of building it from different parts of the facility and got rudely interrupted.

"What the...fuck?" I breathed out in shock at the sight and muttered, "Okay, this place is officially creeping me out now."

I took a few wary steps back from the unfinished makeshift spaceship and immediately turned around to leave since I didn't want to spend another second in that room, then I exited the cave and headed back up to the main building before approaching the front door.

"Well, let's see if I can head inside," I mumbled as I placed my hand on the door handle and turned it, just as the door opened and I went inside what was left of the research facility.

I saw that the corridor ahead of me led into an area that used to be part of the main building but there was a door on the left that was near the entrance so I headed over to it and entered the room, seeing what used to be a communication's room but it was in a bad condition like the rest of the building and I left the room since there didn't appear to be anything useful I could see. I went down the corridor and found myself in what appeared to be the recreation room but the roof was gone and I couldn't help but smile when I saw the frozen pool table in the middle of the former room.

"Heh, maybe I could play a little pool to pass the time," I quipped and chuckled at the image of me trying to play pool and cussing up a storm from failing badly at it.

I shook my head and the cold heavy wind prompted me to keep moving as I passed a few rooms and a bathroom that was completely gone as I saw what used to be a dog kennel and spotted another door that led into a different part of the building. I entered the room and saw that I was in a medical bay as I shined my light around in the dark room, then I spotted something on a table in a corner and went to investigate until I got a good look at it and recoiled.

"Whoa! Oh, fuck!" I yelped as I backpedaled and my back hit a wall while I was breathing rapidly at the sight of what was on the table.

What I saw looked like a charred dead body that was perfectly preserved by the cold, but the thing didn't even look human anymore since it had two faces that held expressions that were frozen in agony while dried blood was on the table and the floor around it as I started hyperventilating and tried to calm down.

_'What the fuck is that thing?! It looks human but it appears to be something out of an HP Lovecraft or Clive Barker novel! Christ, what the fuck did I just discover?!'_ I thought in horror and panic while I started taking deep breaths.

"Well, whatever the fuck that thing is, it's dead now so it won't come after me...okay, I'm going to look around for any information on what the fuck that thing is and then I'm getting the hell out of here," I declared quietly and looked around for anything useful.

I searched the room for any information while avoiding the thing that was on the table and found a desk that had a few papers in the drawers, then I looked through them and saw that they were only research notes and medical files but one of them caught my attention and I aimed my light at it while reading it.

'The virus has the ability to replicate the original biological entity, with the exception of the clothing'

"Virus? Oh shit, is this place contaminated by a pathogen and am I already infected?" I wondered nervously as I looked at the dead body and felt seriously scared that I might've gotten infected by whatever might be airborne in this place.

I backed away from the desk and spotted more notes on a metal cart nearby and headed over to it, picking up the notes and looking through them until I found a document that had more information on what this virus was.

'Although contact with an infected entity does not guarantee infection, there is still a fifty to seventy percent chance of infection'

"Okay...so as long as I refrain from touching anything and keep my gloves on, then I shouldn't get infected by whatever's here," I muttered and let out a shaky breath, wanting to go home where it was safe and declare all of this a bad dream.

I looked around and saw a computer on a desk that was near the table with the dead body, then I went over to it and pushed the power button to see if I can look through it and nothing happened.

"Yeah, guess that was too much to hope for since this place has been abandoned since the cold war and any chance of restoring power to the place is long gone," I grumbled with a sour expression as I backed away from the desk and saw a junction box that I had missed completely but what startled me was the old C4 that was on it.

"Jesus, is that a fucking military-grade explosive?! Okay, the research team living here found that body, discovered that it was contaminated with a pathogen and got infected, became crazy from paranoia and distrust, then blew up the place and killed each other in the process to prevent the spread of the virus.

Shit, looks like the military showed up in the aftermath and decided to destroy what was left but quickly abandoned their mission for some reason...and the reason why there's no information about this place on the internet is that they must've covered up the events of what happened here and erased any information about this research facility to prevent panic from breaking out due to the cold war back then," I theorized and tensed up since the knowledge of this place contaminated with a virus and planted with explosives by the military scared the ever-loving hell out of me.

"Okay, time to see if I can get the power back on 'cause I'm freezing my ass off," I muttered and headed over to the junction box, then I took a look and hoped my studies on electrical engineering in school would help.

"Huh, looks like this junction box was repaired by someone so there's a good chance that the generators still have enough fuel in them to give this place power again," I mumbled as I found the power switch and pulled it, then the junction box started humming as the lights above me turned on and flickered but I was too happy to be bothered by it.

"Heh, let there be light," I quipped softly and felt the heat entering the room in the vents, then I smiled since it looked like my luck was changing for the better and remembered that the computer should be working by now so I headed back to the desk and attempted to turn on the computer, then I was successful and the computer booted up as I felt like doing a little happy dance.

_'Thank God dad made me take those classes on electrical engineering or I would've been completely clueless on what to do here,'_ I thought and knew now that dad did those things to help me get the skills I needed so that I could find a job to sustain myself.

I put it in the back of my mind and started typing on the computer to find any information that proves my theory and I found a strange medical report that didn't make any sense and appeared to be the ramblings of someone that had completely lost their shit.

(Play The Thing by Ennio Morricone)

'I have compiled a five-page report from the autopsy performed on the anomalous body that was discovered at the Norwegian outpost and it appears that what we are dealing with is some kind of self-repairing extraterrestrial entity that has the ability to morph itself into different biological forms. Access to medical supplies is limited to myself and Garry (code 1138)'

"A shape-shifting alien lifeform? The fuck was this person babbling about...that's impossible, alien life doesn't exist so this poor bastard must've snapped and suffered from delusions but those medical supplies would definitely help right now since I feel like shit," I mumbled as I shut off the computer to conserve power just as I heard a noise just outside the door.

I quickly reacted by spinning around and taking out my knife since the noise sounded like something clawing at the door, then I heard what sounded like a dog whining and cautiously approached the door before peering out the window and seeing an Alaskan Malamute just sitting in front of the door with its head cocked. I let out a sigh of relief and put away my knife since the dog didn't look like a threat and was probably hungry, but what had me confused is how the hell there was a dog all the way out here in the middle of nowhere with no one around to take care of it.

Letting it go, for now, I opened the door and the dog perked up as it saw me and I kneeled down to make myself less intimidating.

"Hey, what're you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Why don't you come inside so you don't freeze to death," I said gently and started clicking my tongue in a gesture for the dog to head inside.

The dog started moving and entered the room while it was panting, then I shut the door and held out my hand so the dog could smell it before the malamute approached and sniffed my hand while I petted it.

"Huh...I wonder, are you're a guy or a girl?" I muttered and checked the dog's gender to be sure, seeing a sheath and a pair of balls that answered my question.

"Okay, guess that answers my question so how about I help you dry off?" I offered and the dog just stayed quiet while I shrugged and looked around for anything that could dry him off.

_'Well, looks like I made a new friend so where would a clean towel be?' _I thought as I spotted a door next to the junction box that I haven't gone in yet and the keypad told me that I found where the medical supplies were locked up.

"Alright, stay here boy so that I can find something in there to dry you off," I instructed and the dog sat on his haunches as I headed to the door, hoping to find something to dry off the dog since it looks like it's going to be a long night.

* * *

A/N Hello everyone, I would call this a new story but it isn't...that's right, this is a remake to my canceled Naruto story Tale of a Nine-Tailed Legacy and unlike my character being a veteran and a police officer, he's a teenaged civilian with no military experience and has a completely different name now but some ideas from my old story will be written down here while other things will happen differently.

So, as you can see, Seth has made a new friend but we all know that particular dog isn't what he appears to be so Seth has no idea that he's going to enter a different kind of hell and be forced to survive until the worst has happened and he winds up in the Naruto world under special circumstances.

Anyway, I tried to write down the Thing's point of view and figure out how it thinks, so I think I'm satisfied with what I written since the Thing would operate in a cold and detached manner with a lack of empathy and remorse.

I just wanted to let you all know that the year this chapter takes place in is 2019 so many decades have passed since the events of the prequel, the original movie, and the 2002 video game sequel so the original survivors are either dead from old age or they died out in the artic as Kate had.

Well, let me know what you think since there are not a lot of Naruto/The Thing crossovers and I hope you like this so far, so stay tuned.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hello, I hope you are liking the story so far and I'm updating this chapter with this author's note because some people have been questioning my sanity since what is in this chapter is seriously disturbing so I'm going to put down a warning for you so that you can skip the messed-up scene that's coming and I hope that this will put people at ease now so let's get started.

* * *

After I had entered the storage room, I found a bunch of medkits that still looked in good condition and used one to disinfect and bandage my cuts while also finding clean towels in a sealed box, then I left the storage room to see the dog staring at the dead body before I kneeled down next to him.

"Come on, boy, you don't need to see that since it's pretty gnarly," I said as I put the towel on his back and gently started drying him as the dog looked at me.

"You know, this reminds me of the time I got soaked once when I was, I don't know, seven. I was playing with Chris and Jeremy in the snow and we were tossing snowballs at each other, then Chris had the bright idea to ambush me and dumped a pile of snow onto my head.

I was soaked and miserable when I came home and dad proceeded to laugh his ass off before getting a towel and drying me off...God, I was so fucking pissed when he laughed and couldn't stop grumbling the whole time he was drying me off," I said with a smile of nostalgia once I was done drying off the dog, then my smile went away when I recalled my father's dead body and tears welled up until I pulled the dog into a hug and broke out sobbing at the realization that my father was dead and I was all alone in the Arctic with no one knowing what had happened to me.

"I want to go home," I whimpered shakingly as I held the dog and listened to his heartbeat while letting out my trauma and grief.

Once I was done with my emotional breakdown, I let the dog go and sniffled while the animal was just sitting there watching me patiently and I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous I was being.

"Look at me, I'm fucking crying and talking to a damn dog of all things...I suppose I just want someone to listen to me, even if they aren't human," I muttered as I stood up and brushed off any dust that was on me before looking at the dog.

"Come on, boy, let's go to the comms room 'cause I don't want to spend the entire night sleeping near a dead body," I admitted as I headed to the exit and whistled for the dog to follow me.

The dog followed me as I left the medical bay and we moved through the freezing storm until we headed inside the comms room and I rubbed my hands to warm myself up, then I shot a tired grin at the dog while he was just staring at me and my stomach let out a loud growl as I blushed in embarrassment.

"Damn, I didn't even realize I was that hungry...with everything that I've been through, I must've been starving myself to oblivion," I said sheepishly as I took off my backpack and opened it to grab an MRE and ingredients to make hot chocolate as I took off my parka and gloves.

I got the small electric stove set up and turned it on, then I focused on boiling the water before adding the ingredients and stirring it into hot chocolate until I turned off the stove and opened the MRE packet as I poured in the correct amount of water and waited for it to heat up as I looked at the dog.

"You know, I have an uncle that served in Iraq and he once told me that MREs taste like shit, but beggars can't be choosers right now so I just have to suck it up and eat it since I don't have a lot of options right now," I told the dog, only he still stared at me and it was starting to creep me out a little.

"Um, okay..." I trailed off and shook it off since I didn't need some stray dog's staring freaking me out.

After a few minutes, the MRE was done and I started eating my small dinner and drinking the hot chocolate before I looked at the dog out of the corner of my eye and took out a packet of beef jerky as I put down my cup of hot chocolate, then I opened the packet and took out a few strips before holding out my hand.

"Here, I know this isn't good for you because of the salt and other spices, but I don't have anything else," I offered and the dog slowly padded over before gently taking the beef jerky out of my hand and chewed on it while I petted him.

"You're the most tamed stray dog I have ever met in my life...too bad I can't take you home and keep you because my mother would throw a fit," I joked and chuckled as I imagined how my mother would've reacted since she wasn't exactly fond of dogs.

Thinking about my mother made me feel depressed and I hoped that I would get to the research facility before I died from exposure out here but I needed to stay calm since panicking would make things even worse, not to mention that I had a new friend now so things won't be so bad since having this dog around to talk to will help me cope with my situation. Once I was done with my dinner, I packed up everything and headed to the light switch.

"Well, sleeping on the floor is not going to be pleasant, but at least it's better than nothing," I muttered as I went to turn out the light and everything became pitch black as I took out a lantern and turned it on to give me some light that won't waste the facility's power.

I laid down and used my parka as a blanket while resting my head on my backpack, seeing the dog following suit under the lantern's glow as he kept staring at me. I didn't know why, but something about that dog made me uneasy, almost like he was studying me like a specimen in a science experiment and it was starting to unsettle me since I don't know why he mostly stayed still like a statue. I knew that malamutes were quiet and friendly dogs, but this one was raising red flags in my mind and some part of me was screaming to get far away from him before something bad happened.

_'Shit, that medical report about the supposed shapeshifting alien lifeform is making me paranoid,'_ I thought as I tried to get comfortable and decided to take out my knife so that it would put me at ease.

I adjusted to get more comfortable and then I heard the dog starting to growl, causing me to roll around to see what's bothering him and what happened next would stay in my nightmares for the rest of my life.

I heard a sudden cracking noise as the dog quivered and what made my brain shut down and struggle to reboot was the sight of his head splitting open and blood splattered on the ground, then the dog stood up on his hind paws as he, no, it let out a roar as nightmarish protrusions burst out of the dog's pelt like a bomb of mutated growth with many tendrils flailing around as the monster shuddered with a deep rumbling coming from its chest.

Sounds of bones snapping and flesh peeling filled the room as it glistened with exposed biomaterial, the sound of its body popping as it extended and grew taller before towering over me with its forelegs lengthening and scythe-like claws pushing through the paws as it swiped at the air. The horrific monster was teaming with swirling, ever-changing, ever-living growth that seemed to generate out of nowhere as the monster's hind-legs split in half and made four spindly thin ones like a crab.

Finally, just when I thought this thing was done revealing its unholy existence, its chest started bulging and opened up with sharp teeth on both ends with its intestines also flailing around like tentacles and to my horror, the sheath bulged before its male cock grew out of the sheath and what appeared to be spikes formed on the member as the four parts of the head each grew more sharp teeth and its long tongue licked at the air while the monster let out an unholy wail that echoed the room.

I heard another sound and it took me a second to realize that it was me shrieking in pure uncontrollable terror at the terrifying monstrosity that stood before me, then I quickly stood up with my bag in my hands as I instinctively threw it at the thing, sending it stumbling back with a squeal as I quickly put on my parka and bolted out of the comms room. The storm kept raging on around me but I didn't care since I was running on fight or flight instinct and I most definitely wasn't fighting that thing with a tiny knife since it would be a suicidal move.

I heard the door crash to the ground and the sound of it scrabbling after me caused even more terror and panic to rise as I weaved and jumped around the debris to slow it down, then I rushed to the medical bay and slammed the door behind me before I hurried into the storage room and shut the door before locking it. Once I had backed away from the door, I headed around a bunch of boxes and saw a crate that was open before I hopped in it and closed the lid carefully so I wouldn't make too much noise.

I let out quiet terrified sobs as I covered my mouth and took out my phone before finding the camera app and turned it on, then I activated the recorder and held the phone up to my face while the screen showed my eyes wild with fear and tears running down my cheeks as I prepared to give my last words.

"If you're finding this, it means I didn't make it so please listen to me...my name is Seth Mercer and I'm currently in an abandoned research facility that's in the middle of Antarctica but that's not important, what's important is that everything I'm about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God.

There's something out there that's so horrible, so fucked up, and so terrible that it makes your darkest nightmares look like teddy bears in comparison. What's out there is some kind of creature, something that's lethal and it's coming after me to do God knows what to me.

I found old medical reports on paper and a computer that say the previous occupants were dealing with a shapeshifting extraterrestrial lifeform that can assimilate and take your form down to the cellular matter, copying memories, personality, and mannerisms so perfectly that no one can tell the difference...talk about a terrifying thought to say the least.

I didn't believe it at first and thought that they went crazy from cabin fever, but I just encountered one that was in the shape of a dog and it's trying to either kill me or assimilate me and both of those options scare the shit out of me since I don't know which is worse-" I said to the camera until I heard the door crash to the ground and growling rang out, causing me to struggle not to scream as I let out a quiet whimper.

"Oh God, it's here...mom, if you're watching this, I'm sorry that I'm not coming home and dad...dad's dead but he died when our plane went down. If you see me approaching the front door, do not open it and do not listen to anything I say since that monster must've already assimilated me and is using my form as a meat puppet...I love you-" I whispered and the lid suddenly opened, causing me to quickly look up while my camera was recording the monster horrifying appearance.

"Oh fuck!" I screamed before the monster grabbed me and I was lifted out of the crate before being tossed into a wall with incredible strength, my body flying fast until I crashed against the wall and bounced off it before hitting the ground hard.

I coughed and gagged harshly while it felt like a couple more ribs were broken, and I weakly tried to crawl away but the monster seemed to understand my intention and stringy flesh flooded out of its back before coating the room and the doorway to prevent my escape as it lumbered closer to me and forced me down with its clawed hand. I struggled to break free while seeing the monster leaning forward and looking at every inch of me like it was studying me for the best course of action, then it grabbed my parka, sweater, and shirt before ripping them off as I saw the blackened pits of where its eyes used to be.

Having no other option and desperation setting in, I took out my knife and stabbed the creature in its arm, causing it to roar as I kept trying to break free and the thing grabbed the handle of the knife before ripping it out and tossing it with a snarl as streaks of blood flew out and hit the ground nearby. Knowing that I only just pissed it off, I closed my eyes and prepared for a gruesome death but nothing happened and I opened my eyes to see the thing staring down at me.

(Warning, seriously messed up scene so skip it if you don't want to read it)

I saw the thing's male member started twitching as it shuddered in what appeared to be a vile pleasure, then it eyed my ass and pure horror set in when I realized what it was planning. The monster held me down with one hand and it used its claws on its other hand to rip off my pants and underwear as I screamed and begged for anyone to save me, knowing that this thing was going to rape me while I was being assimilated and that was quite possibly one of the worst things this monster could do to me.

The monster's intestines reached out and wrapped themselves around my wrists as the thing let go, causing me to start heaving at how revolting it is from how bloody and slimy they felt and I felt the monster grabbed my legs before spreading them while I thrashed around, only to freeze up when the monster growled warningly while squeezing my legs and I resorted to sobbing as I realized that there was no way out for me and my last thought would be this thing raping me while it assimilated me.

I looked back and saw the monster lining up its member and I hyperventilated since those spikes on the member would mercilessly destroy my insides, then the monster thrust in hard and I bellowed out a guttural cry as sheer agony flooded through my body and my nerves were on fire while the feeling of my anal passage getting ripped apart was almost enough to make me pass out.

The worst part was that it felt like everything burned whenever the alien creature touched me and the sounds of bones cracking made me look back to see the thing's chest closing shut with the intestines sticking out of holes and it pressed its chest to me while letting out a horrific moan as its head closed back together and its eyes reformed.

I spotted my arms starting to display an inhumanely fleshy shade of mottled salmon color, which told me that the assimilation has begun and it was too late for anyone to save me now as the infection was taking on a hue of the most diseased pinkened tissue that steadily encroached across my slightly tan skin with exponentially increasing haste.

I was pulled up to my knees and the thing thrust steadily while I buckled under its weight and a moan from me dropped several octaves as several tendrils sprouted from the male member and felt around while more of them reached around from the thing's back and felt up my sides while poking several places curiously while it felt like I was being prodded from the inside out.

Just when I thought this hell would never end, one of the tentacles forced itself into my mouth and I choked while throwing up in my mouth as it split and formed into two canine members that grew more spikes and the inside of my mouth was being ripped apart while more tendrils speared into different places on my body and a muffled scream left my mouth as blood exited the pierced areas and I couldn't even express just how fucked up and unspeakable this was anymore.

As the torture continued, I noticed that I couldn't feel my lips anymore and my nostrils flared in a panic as I looked back to see that the thing's hips were melting and merging us into a singular abomination of flesh as they assumed a more grotesque and fitting form and the thing arched its back as it let out a roar of pleasure, then my eyes rolled back from the shock setting in and the member in my ass formed teeth from tip to knot as the thrusts tore apart my innards and distended my abdomen in an inhuman bulge.

The torment never ceased as the thing kept thrusting and I was probably suffering from shock and severe internal damage that would kill me, then this living hell became worse as my balls and asshole were completely mutilated beyond saving until the thing reached my prostate and that's when my mind completely shut down from the agony and pure trauma while I was instinctively trying to pull myself free to no avail.

As I was starting to slip away from what this thing was putting me through, it slammed its chest onto my back and I felt a tentacle probing my cock until it forced itself into my urethra in the shape of another canine member and the thing's chest started sticking to my back like glue as its thrusts sped up and I just watched helplessly as I was filled in every place imaginable and more, then my arms and legs were melding into the creature along with my torso and head while it kept pressing itself harder onto me and my sense of individuality was evaporating as I started losing consciousness.

_'Someone...please kill me,' _I begged inwardly and that was the last thought I made until I knew nothing after that.

* * *

The creature finished assimilating the young human and his memories flooded its mind as it was nothing more than a pile of flesh, then the flesh rippled and started taking shape as it rose up with the floor becoming covered in blood while a humanoid body was formed like clay as an amalgamation of a malamute and a human centaur with fur coloration of a malamute, many canine legs and a long lower body like a centipede, a humanoid torso, and two heads as it completed its transformation and was stroking its canine/human hybrid cock until it let out an unearthly nightmarish howl as it reached its peak and cummed all over the floor while it body morphed and altered into different horrifying shapes due to a lack of control from pure pleasure.

(End of messed-up scene)

After the creature managed to regain itself, its body snapped and crunched as its form became more human until it had replicated the human Seth Mercer while more blood pooled all over the floor. The nude human imitation opened its eyes and looked at its blood-covered hands while clenching them a few times, feeling good to be in another form again after being asleep for many years and getting relief by doing that human ritual called sex was also beneficial as well.

The creature took a deep breath and saw that the clothes on the ground were completely ruined by blood and semen while also being torn from its claws, causing it to frown since it was a slight problem and it had to admit that it was too eager when it went to assimilate the human so it needed to find some clothes that were still wearable, but not before cleaning itself up first since it couldn't approach that research facility looking like it committed a massacre.

The Thing headed to some of the boxes and checked inside them to find cleaning supplies, then it proceeded to clean itself with bleach and a towel until it left the medical bay and arrived at the comms room before heading to the backpack and opening it to find a fresh pair of winter clothes. The thing got dressed and put on the backpack, then it left the main building and stopped at the sign before looking back with a cold expression.

Even though the human it assimilated was nothing more than a meat bag like the others, it had to commend him for putting up a fight even though he knew that there was no hope of stopping it without using one of those irritating flamethrowers to burn every part of it until there was nothing left. As the creature started its journey to the research facility, it noticed something glowing out of the corner of its eye and turned its head to see a slit of blue light hovering in the middle of the snowy wasteland that was just off the main road.

The creature tilted its head with a puzzled expression as it went to investigate since that light was nothing it had ever seen before throughout its ancient lifespan, and it had discovered so much in the universe. The creature examined the light at a safe distance just in case and didn't know how to respond to such a phenomenon, then the light grew bigger unexpectedly and turned into a blue swirly vortex that started to suck the creature in.

The Thing quickly reacted by trying to flee from the vortex but the suction was too powerful and the creature grew its claws out to stab into the ground while it held on for dear life, then its form snapped and changed again as its muscles grew larger and it formed into its dog form while tearing through the winter clothes and blood sprayed everywhere from the rapid transformation.

The creature felt irritation rise since the vortex was becoming a problem and that's when the ground it was holding onto broke and it flew into the vortex while the scraps of clothing and the backpack just landed onto the ground with no sign of what happened to its owner except for a pool of blood that was becoming frozen quickly and anyone that decided to pass the area would assume that whoever owned the bag was killed by wild animals.

The creature was tumbling through the vortex while it was flailing around instinctively, having no idea what its destination would be but it would survive and assimilate any lifeform if it found itself on a planet teeming with life. At the same time, a blue beam of light struck the creature and its interest peaked since it didn't know what was happening but it felt something in its mind starting to stir and as it grew stronger and became more familiar, it understood that it was sensing the human it assimilated but that was illogical since any lifeform it assimilates is gone forever.

Then, the human's conscious started fighting to take control and the creature fought back mentally to eliminate this pest but somehow, the human was winning and it realized that the vortex was erasing its consciousness from itself completely.

At that moment, the creature felt something it had never felt before...complete and uncontrollable fear of dying for good and its self-preservation kicked in as it struggled to survive against the vortex but as its consciousness was being erased and a new one was taking its place, the creature knew that its time was finally up and it felt true emotion for the first time that wasn't replicated before its consciousness was completely erased and the human took control again just as he arrived at the end of the vortex and fell into a village that was being attacked by something massive and under someone's mind control.

* * *

I felt like shit as I was regaining my consciousness, opening my eyes to see that I was in an alley of some kind but the sounds of screaming, massive explosions, and deafening roars caught my attention as I was completely stunned as to why I have my humanity again. I shook it off and went to stand up, only I fell and the canine yelp startled me as I looked at myself and my breath hitched when I saw the fur of a malamute and the rest of my body was completely canine.

I tried to say something but a low deep bark escaped my new muzzle and I knew that I wasn't human anymore as I easily stood up on my paws, surprised that I'm not falling over or wobbling because of my new form and I concluded that I still had that thing's instincts on easily knowing how to use a new form.

I saw flashes in my mind of being adopted by a human and raised in a large compound with Americans and Norwegians until they stopped at being horrifically killed by a monster and I knew I was seeing memories of the dog before it was assimilated by the Thing. I had no time to ponder why I had regained myself since it sounded like a warzone out in the streets, so I carefully padded to the exit and peered out before I saw something that made me tense up.

People were running for their lives while screaming in terror, but what caught my attention was the massive skyscraper-sized nine-tailed fox creature destroying the large town I was in with swipes of its claws and swings of its tails as people wearing odd clothing were shooting fire, water, earth, and other elements from their mouths while also throwing weapons that looked like something out of a ninja film.

_'Goddammit, can't I catch a fucking break?! Are those people shooting the elements out of their mouths?!' _I thought incredulously as I cursed my shitty luck and growled in frustration while I just about had enough of this.

The fox, that was the size of the Empire State Building, opened its mouth and roared just before an enormous gust with the force of a hurricane came out and destroyed buildings while sending people flying. I yelped in alarm as I scrambled back into the alley to prevent myself from getting blown away.

_'Shit, that thing's going to destroy the entire town at this rate, but what the fuck can I do?! I'm just a kid from Miami who's trapped in a dog's body!'_ I thought as I thought hard on what to do and something, I don't know what, clicked in my mind and I was nearly overwhelmed by the massive amounts of knowledge hitting me at once before I suddenly knew how to change my shape and assimilate any organic lifeform.

I didn't know how that happened and I didn't care, I needed to help these people as much as I can so I took off into the street and towards the people throwing kunai and other throwing weapons until I stopped next to them and looked up at the monster warily to try and figure out how to stop something that huge. I gauged the size of the monster and wondered what the fuck I was doing since that thing could kill me by easily stepping on me, just as a few men and women spotted me.

"What the fuck is that dog doing here without an Inuzuka?! Someone get it out of here before it gets killed!" one man shouted in disbelief and a woman with feral traits and red war paint in the shape of fangs approached me before kneeling down and patting her knee.

"Come on, boy, come with me so that I can get you to safety until I find your partner," the woman said as a german shepherd ran up to her.

"Kimi, we're starting to get overwhelmed so we need to come up with a strategy before we get slaughtered!" the dog alerted and I decided not to question it since I have seen enough fucked up shit to last me a lifetime.

"Understood, now gather the other Inuzuka members and tell them to remain on stand by for Lord Third's orders!" the woman ordered and the dog nodded before he noticed me.

"You, come with me and stay close!" the dog instructed over the sounds of explosions and roaring, but I froze up and hesitated since this was my first time in combat and it was nothing like in the movies and video games.

"Well?! Get your damn tail in gear unless you want to stay here and get killed!" the dog urged and that prompted me to snap out of it before I nodded and felt completely nervous.

The dog took off and I followed him but I looked back and saw that the fox had laid its red eyes on me before it snarled and swung a giant tail at me, then the dog saw it and his eyes widened in alarm before jumping up onto a rooftop and I gaped up at him from seeing the impossible leap.

"Kid, get the fuck out of there!" the dog shouted and I quickly went down a different direction before the tail could crush me.

My adrenaline was keeping me going as I found myself in another part of town and panted at the stress of my current situation, shooting a glare at the monster fox while something in me just snapped.

_'Alright, enough is fucking enough! I lost my father in a plane crash, I was raped and assimilated by an unholy creature that defied the laws of nature, and now a giant fox is trying to kill me?! I've had it with this bullshit and now I'm going to take it out on that thing!'_ I thought in rage and fury as I growled and decided to kill that thing myself, if only to make me feel better after all the traumatic shit I've been through.

Suddenly, I felt very good to the point of pleasure as my eyes glazed over and my canine body cracked with the sound of cicadas ringing out while my back bulged, then bone and flesh burst out of my back as they formed into demonic-looking wings and I stood up on my hind paws while my torso extended and I grew taller as my hind paws elongated and thinned into talons with my forearms becoming humanoid along with claws growing long and sharp like scythes. My head split open and more teeth grew in while my chest burst open with sharp teeth on both edges and tentacles flailing around, just as I let out an eerie wailing howl that didn't sound like anything from this world while blood splattered onto the ground.

(A/N Picture the howl as the sound the kennel dog-thing makes in the 1982 movie when the researchers encounter it for the first time)

Even without my eyes, I can still see in a sense by using some kind of sensory organ that detects body temperature which told me how the original creature was able to find me but I couldn't study this discovery since I had a giant fox to kill and quite possibly assimilate so I took off into the night sky with my powerful wings and flew at the fox at the speed of a jet while it was charging up some kind of purple energy ball and fired it at a mountain that had four stone faces on it.

Japanese kanji appeared in front of the mountain and the giant ball collided into it after vaporizing an unknown amount of buildings and people, then the ball sank into the writing until it disappeared and a massive explosion happened a few miles away in a few seconds. I didn't pay any thought to it as I got closer to the fox and heard people clamoring in horror, causing me to look and see many of the men and women with ninja weapons pointing up at me in shock and fear while a middle-aged man with a bo staff was staring at me in disbelief.

I didn't blame them for being horrified since I was probably quite the sight to them, but I ignored them and focused on the fox as it paused for several seconds and proceeded to continue its rampage until I slashed at its side and it roared from the pain of getting its flesh sliced up by me.

The fox turned its attention to me and its eyes widened in what appeared to shock at the sight of me, just as people wearing animal masks jumped up and threw kunai decorated with paper tags at us and I shrieked in pain when one of them exploded on contact while also being sent back from the force of the explosion as the fox roared and slapped the men and women away. I kept my distance from the other explosions and something extended from a nearby building before it hit the fox in the stomach and pushed it out of the village.

Seeing the fox growling in rage and charging up another purple ball, I flew over and started slashing it while my tentacles pierced its flesh before something large dropped down onto the fox and took me down with it.

"Hold the Ninetails just a little longer!" a male voice shouted from above and I could see that the large thing was a massive toad with a scar across one eye and a sword.

**"I'm trying my damndest but this fucking bastard is making things difficult!"** the toad grunted while the fox was struggling to break free.

I suddenly felt a jarring sensation of moving rapidly before I found myself crashing to the ground in a field somewhere and I carefully stood up before looking up at the fox, who was eyeing me with a calculating expression like it didn't know what to make of me.

**"What...are you?" **the fox muttered in a male guttural voice as it studied me.

_'That's a good question...I don't even know who I am anymore or if I'm still me and not the imitation,' _I thought just as glowing chains burst out of the ground and restrained the fox, causing it to thrash around and snarl while I turned around to see a man with blond spiky hair and a woman with long red hair staring at me with fear in their eyes while keeping an infant close protectively, also seeing what appeared to be an altar with a small bed.

Knowing that my current form was too horrifying for them, my body made cracking and snapping sounds as my chest closed, my talons formed back into paws, claws shortened, fore-arms reverted into completely canine with a loud deep snap, then my head closed back together as my eyes reformed and my size shrunk until I was back in my dog form while blood and pus pooled all over the ground beneath me.

I could see the man covering his mouth and retching while the woman wasn't looking any better and turning her head away out of sheer disgust from the horrifying sight, then I decided to try and speak to them as my vocal cords altered themselves to more human ones.

"You're not in any danger because I won't hurt you two or the baby," I reassured as I stepped away from the pool of blood and lowered my head while keeping my distance to show them I wasn't a threat.

"What...What in Kami's name are you?" the man gasped as he held up a strange-looking kunai with a shaky hand and I chuckled bitterly.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure anymore," I admitted darkly with a grim smile that showed my lack of hope for a normal life.

"Minato, what should we do? I don't have enough chakra to restrain both the fox and that creature at the same time," the woman informed Minato, who looked pensive as he appeared to be thinking on what to do with me.

"I-I don't know, Kushina...that thing is unlike anything I have ever seen before," Minato said nervously and I cleared my throat to get their attention.

"I have a name, and it's Seth so please don't call me a thing because it makes me feel like I'm less than a person and my self-esteem is low enough already," I suggested and the two adults grimaced as I noticed that Kushina didn't look so good as the baby was put onto the bed and Minato looked regretful for some reason I couldn't understand.

At that moment, Kushina started coughing harshly just before the chains restraining the fox loosened and the giant humanoid animal took the chance to raise a pawed hand and attempted to kill the baby as my eyes widened in horror.

"Look out!" I alerted as I started rushing to the altar so that I could save the baby, only to witness Minato and Kushina throw themselves into the way before they were impaled by the claw.

**"Damn you, Fourth Hokage!" **the fox roared in outrage as Minato and Kushina coughed up blood and were wheezing from the physical trauma.

"Oh my God..." I trailed off in horror while Minato looked at me with a wince as he made odd hand signs and before my eyes, a transparent humanoid creature with horns appeared.

"Your name is Seth?" Minato asked and I nodded, which looks strange for a dog but I wasn't any ordinary dog.

"Yeah, what is it?" I inquired.

"We don't know what you are but you haven't attacked us and tried to save our son...so we'll give you the benefit of the doubt and we don't have any choice. Pretty soon, our son Naruto is going to live a horrible life and he needs someone to be there for him since we're not going to make it.

Please, promise us to look after our son and try to give him a good life so that at least he'll have someone that'll love him," Minato begged and my eyes welled up since I understood he wouldn't just do this unless he knew that he and Kushina were going to die and leave their son an orphan.

"I'll look after him as if he was one of my own, I swear," I vowed while I looked at the baby with a solemn expression and the two adults smiled gratefully.

"Thank you," Kushina told me and proceeded to say her goodbyes just as the creature with horns took out the knife from between its teeth and reached for the fox, sinking its hand into the vulpine's body and pulling out a blue aura.

The aura appeared to be looking at me as it was in a vulpine shape, then it suddenly flew to me and entered my body before I gasped and groaned at how intense and heavy it was to have so much power enter me while my body bubbled and rippled from the heat that spread through me just as I glanced at Minato, and understood that he gave me that power for some reason I didn't know why.

"Why? Why did you do that?" I groaned and Minato looked at me.

"Because...Because something in me somehow can tell that you're trustworthy and you'll need the Ninetails' power for what's to come in the future. Listen to me, Seth, a man wearing an orange spiral mask was responsible for all of this and he told me that he planned to rule over this world, but I figured out that he is someone who's supposed to be long dead by the name of Madara Uchiha.

He'll be after our son...I don't know when, but he'll be after Naruto for the Ninetails' power so please keep him safe for us while we're gone," Minato explained and coughed harshly just before he made a few more hand signs and a human-sized toad appeared in a puff of smoke.

I just watched the exchange between the toad and Minato as I struggled to come to terms that I had a huge responsibility placed on my shoulders, just as I heard someone mumbling nearby and looked to see it was the middle-aged man with the staff standing a short distance away while two other men were right next to him.

After a couple of minutes, Minato and Kushina finished saying goodbye to Naruto and Minato made a single hand sign before the fox was sucked into Naruto while roaring and everything went silent after that as Minato and Kushina fell to the ground and I headed over to Naruto before curling up against him while he was letting out loud cries.

_'I swear to God that this poor child has someone to take care of him,' _I thought solemnly just as the man with the staff and his men quickly approached.

"Oh Kami..." the man trailed off in horror as one of the two men with him saw me and started walking over.

"Come on, boy, let me see that child," the man said gently as he reached out, then I let out a low growl as he got too close and tried to bite him but he jerked his hand back and stepped away.

"Lord Third, I can't take the boy because of the dog," the man informed the older one, who walked over and kneeled down near me as I started growling again.

"It's okay, boy, I'm not going to hurt him," the man reassured but I stared at him warily with my fur bristling, unable to trust him or the other two after everything I've experienced and I wasn't sure I trusted myself anymore.

Suddenly, we heard weak gasping and saw Kushina barely wheezing before the middle-aged man and the other two quickly rushed over to check on her.

"Kushina, can you hear me?!" the man spoke frantically and Kushina weakly looked at him.

"Hiruzen, is that you?" Kushina gasped and coughed weakly.

"I'm here, just stay with me so that we can get you to the hospital!" Hiruzen assured but Kushina shook her head weakly.

"It's too late for that...I only have seconds so I just wanted you to do me and my husband a favor," Kushina wheezed.

"Anything," Hiruzen whimpered while his eyes welled up and tears started running down his cheeks.

"Please keep our son's status as a Jinchuriki a secret...you know the kind of life a Jinchuriki will experience so please make sure that no one finds out about Naruto's status and that dog that's with him, he's special and made a promise to look after our son for us so give him anything he requests...can you do that for us?" Kushina asked while her weak breathing started to fade.

"I will..." Hiruzen trailed off quietly as I could see him struggling to keep his composure.

Kushina smiled and before I knew it, her breathing stopped and I lowered my canine head out of respect for their sacrifice and hard choice to make their son a vessel for a monster.

_'I'm never going to be the same again, not after everything I've been through,' _I thought as Naruto started being fussy and I nuzzled his head to calm him down as I wondered what was next in this new life I had been thrown into.

* * *

A/N Sorry for keeping you all in suspense but chapter two is finished and as I said before in the last chapter, the concept of Naruto being adopted by the main character is going to be in this story so that means that Minato and Kushina unfortunately died but their last request this time is to keep Naruto's status a secret so that's one of the major changes in the story, only a certain Warhawk will find out and you know what will happen next.

Anyway, I know the rape scene was a little too much but it just emphasizes how horrifying the alien shapeshifter is and I believe it could've done something that heinous if it wanted to, which shows that it doesn't have any morals or care how its victim suffers while it assimilates its target.

So, let me know what you think and stay tuned.


	3. Chapter 3

I kept Naruto close while Hiruzen and a few men escorted me through what was left of the village...it was strange getting used to a new form, especially one that wasn't even anything from Earth, but I knew I had to keep what was left of my sanity and adapt for Naruto's sake since I promised his parents and I would be damned if I dishonored their memory by not respecting their dying wish.

I saw many survivors in different stages of grief and anguish as most of them were either calling out for their loved ones, stumbling around in shock, or holding dead bodies while sobbing at the tragedy that had just happened.

After the whole tragic events of tonight and revealing to Hiruzen that I could talk, he ordered me to follow him and explained that there would be a Council meeting soon to discuss what was going to happen to me and what was going to be Naruto's future, but he had someone contact two old students of his and one of them was heading back to the village. I didn't blame them for not knowing what to do with me since I was an unexpected anomaly in their lives.

"How much longer?" I asked Hiruzen while we were moving through the streets.

"Not much longer because we're almost there, strange one," Hiruzen assured as we were approaching a large building.

"Seth," I said and Hiruzen looked at me in confusion.

"I'm sorry?" Hiruzen inquired.

"My name is Seth Mercer," I clarified while I made sure Naruto was secure in the makeshift baby carrier and eyed anyone suspiciously whenever they got too close.

"Seth Mercer...a strange name but it's not my place to judge," Hiruzen stated as we entered the building and before I knew it, we arrived in an office and Hiruzen took a seat at the desk that was at the end of the room.

"Never thought I would be sitting in this chair again," Hiruzen muttered as I removed the straps that were around my furry torso and carefully lowered Naruto to the ground.

"You've been in this office before?" I asked and Hiruzen nodded.

"Correct, I used to be this village's leader called the Hokage until Minato took my place and I retired...only it looks like I'm going to be out of retirement soon after what happened," Hiruzen explained and I felt guilt rise up when he mentioned Minato.

"Yeah..." I trailed off as I recalled everything I had witnessed and started trembling with a thousand-yard stare while the horrific memory of being assimilated came flooding back.

"Seth, are you okay?" Hiruzen inquired in concern and I shook my head to clear it.

"No, I'm not and I don't want to talk about it if it's alright with you," I stated and Hiruzen nodded.

"Of course...Seth, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't you let the medic-nins check Naruto to see that he's okay?" Hiruzen asked and I shot him a look of distrust.

"Because I don't know you or anyone else here and that gives me all the reason not to trust you or them," I replied shortly with a frown and Hiruzen sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Seth, I assure you that no one is going to hurt you or Naruto so would you please give us the benefit of the doubt?" Hiruzen pleaded but I wasn't phased by it.

"Your word doesn't mean anything to me so unless you prove that you won't hurt Naruto, I've got no reason to trust anything you say," I stated firmly and Hiruzen looked like he wanted to argue but appeared to let it go as he stood up and headed to the window, looking outside with his hands clasped behind his back and seemed to reflect on something.

"Very well...that's fair so I suppose that actions speak louder than words," Hiruzen relented just as a person wearing an animal mask appeared behind him.

"Lord Hokage, Jiraiya of the Sannin is here as you requested," the man announced.

"Send him in please," Hiruzen responded as he looked back.

"As you say," the man said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and a few seconds later, a man with long white spiky hair entered the office before Hiruzen smiled a little.

"Hello, Jiraiya, it's good to see you again, even if it's under such terrible circumstances. How was your trip here?" Hiruzen asked as he went back to the desk and sat down.

"Not to be rude, but that matters little right now...is it true, sensei? Are Minato and Kushina truly dead?" Jiraiya inquired and I could tell he was trying to keep his composure.

"Yes," Hiruzen answered solemnly and Jiraiya swore under his breath as he averted his gaze and sighed before making eye contact with Hiruzen again.

"May I...see the bodies?" Jiraiya asked hesitantly.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Jiraiya," Hiruzen refused and Jiraiya looked less than happy to hear that.

"And why the hell not?! Can't I even say goodbye to my last surviving student?!" Jiraiya exploded as he slammed his hands onto the desk, and Hiruzen raised a hand to placate him while I was busy keeping Naruto calm.

"You will, but Minato and Kushina are currently being taken care of for the funeral so there's no need to be outraged," Hiruzen reassured and Jiraiya let out a tired sigh.

"What about their son, Naruto? Is he okay?" Jiraiya questioned worriedly.

"Naruto is fine, he's probably one of the few people who came out of this unscathed," Hiruzen said and Jiraiya frowned.

"I don't know if I'd call having two halves of a demon sealed inside him and a dog "unscathed", sensei," Jiraiya pointed out and Hiruzen seemed to realize his poor choice of words as he cleared his throat.

"True...excuse my lack of tact and to answer your first question, he's right here with the dog I mentioned in your letter. A couple of medic-nin tried to check Naruto's condition, but the dog won't let anyone near him due to trust issues. Now, Naruto and the dog were the reasons I called you here," Hiruzen stated.

"Because I'm his Godfather and you wanted me to check the seal on the dog since sealing the fox in an animal has never happened before," Jiraiya replied as he looked at me and I stared back suspiciously.

"Exactly...according to Minato and Kushina's will, they left everything to Naruto; all their physical assets such as their house and other properties, as well as all their liquid assets which will be managed by his legal guardian until Naruto comes of age and according to their will, this person is you," Hiruzen explained.

"I see..." Jiraiya trailed off and an uncomfortable silence followed his laconic answer.

"So...do I suppose you're up to becoming Naruto's legal guardian and raise him until he's eighteen? Regardless of Minato's will, we can assign another legal guardian if you refuse," Hiruzen offered and I watched Jiraiya pondering it but he appeared to be unsure so I decided to say my peace.

"I'll look after him," I declared, causing the older men to shoot looks of disbelief at me.

"I'm sorry, Seth, did I just hear you say that you'll raise Naruto?" Hiruzen inquired and a nod from me made Jiraiya blink at that.

"Seth, was it? No offense, but you're a dog and no one will take you seriously because of it and they definitely won't let you adopt Naruto," Jiraiya pointed out and a dark chuckle from me caused him and Hiruzen to be taken aback.

"Yeah...if I actually was a dog," I said and my bitter tone caused the two older men to look unsettled while I looked at them with a hollow expression no one should have.

"Seth, I don't understand what you mean by that because you look like a dog to us," Hiruzen stated as I curled up around Naruto to keep him warm and hoped I didn't assimilate him by accident.

"I might look like a dog but I'm not, just an imitation of one," I said and the older men looked at each other before returning eye contact.

"Seth, are you trying to tell us that you're someone that's taken the form of a dog?" Jiraiya inquired and I grimaced while inwardly kicking myself for giving them too much information so that they could potentially use against me.

"I've said too much and we're getting off track...I made a promise to Naruto's parents that I would look after him and I'll keep honoring their dying wish for as long as I live," I declared firmly, causing Hiruzen and Jiraiya to look at me with uncertainty but my expression told them that I was not budging from my decision.

"I'm not sure about this but if it's Minato and Kushina's dying wish, then I'll accept it...though the Council won't," Hiruzen pointed out and I noticed Jiraiya also frowning at this unexpected development.

"On one condition, I get involved in Naruto's life since I'm his Godfather," Jiraiya offered and I looked at him suspiciously before nodding.

"Then we're all in agreement then," I stated stoically.

"Alright, let's see if we can come to an arrangement on getting you to live in Minato's house," Jiraiya offered but Hiruzen shook his head.

"Actually, I don't think that's a good idea," Hiruzen intervened and I frowned at him.

"How so?" I questioned in confusion.

"You see, Minato had a lot of enemies that would love to get revenge on him through his son, so I believe that we should keep Naruto's existence, as well as his parentage and status as a Jinchuriki a secret outside the village's walls. That's why I think we should sell all of Minato and Kushina's properties and use that money to buy a house for you to live in...also, I think that we should give Naruto his mother's last name instead," Hiruzen explained.

"But sensei, Naruto has the right to know who his parents are and it would be a disservice to Minato and Kushina's memory if we keep it from him," Jiraiya protested calmly and Hiruzen looked thoughtful for a few seconds and nodded.

"I suppose you got a point there, Jiraiya...alright, for the time being, you and Seth can tell Naruto that his parents were powerful ninja who died during the night the fox attacked but keep their names a secret for the time being, same goes with the fox," Hiruzen agreed and I decided to speak up.

"Excuse me, but I have to disagree with that because you just can't keep something that big a secret from him, especially if the rest of the village finds out," I pointed out and Hiruzen looked at me.

"It's for his own protection and the village won't find out since I've taken necessary steps to ensure that," Hiruzen stated but I wasn't impressed and stared at him with a deadpanned expression.

"How is being ignorant to the incredibly dangerous being inside of him is going to protect him exactly?" Jiraiya inquired skeptically.

"Listen, I want Naruto to have a normal life...it's what his parents would've wanted and Naruto carries a heavy burden on his shoulders as Seth does, but he shouldn't be aware of it yet. That's why I'm going to have any witnesses keep quiet about Naruto and Seth's sealing so that they won't be persecuted for something that was out of their control," Hiruzen replied and I blinked at that with a look of disbelief.

"Alright, let me tell you why that's a monumentally stupid idea...your solution amounts to ignoring the fox and we could ignore it, but that won't make the fox disappear and even I know that. Threatening or bribing witnesses to keep quiet might protect Naruto to an extent but someone will find out eventually and that person will spread the knowledge of us being Jinchuriki like wildfire until the entire village knows about it," Jiraiya stated and Hiruzen didn't look happy to hear that.

"Even if that's true, how can Seth and Naruto have a normal life then?" Hiruzen questioned and I let out a chuckle.

"Any chance of a normal life for me is long gone and let's face the facts, such a thing is completely impossible for Naruto and not that it's a bad thing since normal doesn't have to mean happy...Jiraiya and I will make sure that Naruto's childhood is as fulfilling as possible," I declared and Jiraiya shot me a look of gratitude.

"Thanks for backing me up, Seth," Jiraiya said and I nodded.

"I'm just stating the truth," I replied bluntly.

"But if his generation grows up knowing that Naruto carries the demon fox, it might alter their perceptions of him and will judge him unfairly...it'll be nearly impossible for him to make friends," Hiruzen interjected and I sighed.

"Even though Kushina had you promise to keep Naruto's status secret, I'm sure that even she knew that keeping something like this quiet is nothing more than a pipe dream at best and some part of her must've known that this won't be kept quiet for long so it's better that people hear it from you instead of someone twisting the entire story for their own benefit," I stated while looking down at Naruto and frowning at the thought of what his life will be.

"I'm still not sure about this..." Hiruzen trailed off hesitantly and Jiraiya looked at him with a sympathetic expression.

"Tell me, sensei, do you think anybody would let their children near Naruto, knowing what he's holding inside? At the very least, with all the facts, the children will be able to judge Naruto by themselves and if they're unable to differentiate between the prisoner and its jailer, then they aren't worth his time so Seth has a point when he says it's better that everyone hears it from you," Jiraiya said and Hiruzen still looked doubtful.

"You and Seth seem very sure of yourselves, Jiraiya, so are you two sure this won't backfire?" Hiruzen questioned.

"I would be lying if I said I was one hundred percent sure, but I do believe it's the best option so let's have faith that the new generation will accept Naruto and won't judge him unfairly. You always drilled into my head the importance of protecting the next generation so if we protect them, then we can place some trust in them, right?" Jiraiya pointed out and Hiruzen was silent for a few moments as he pondered Jiraiya's words until he smiled and let out a soft chuckle.

"To think that I just had one of my teachings used against me...yes, I suppose that you and Seth proved your point, Jiraiya. Very well, there will be no special laws regarding Naruto so you two will be tasked with his protection and well being, and we'll have faith that Naruto will be accepted among his peers, regardless of his burden.

There's one more thing I'd like to talk about that concerns you two...even if I can guess Jiraiya's answer about becoming a shinobi again, is there a chance that you might be able to join the Leaf Village's ninja ranks, Seth?" Hiruzen offered and I was taken aback before I frowned at the thought of killing people once I become a ninja.

"I don't know what I can do since I'm just a dog," I said and Hiruzen chuckled mirthfully.

"Seth, I know you were that creature everyone saw earlier so you don't have to try and deceive me," Hiruzen stated and I shot him a stunned expression while Jiraiya appeared to be confused by what he just heard.

"H-How the hell did you-" I stuttered and started looking nervous.

"Figure it out? A creature looking like someone's worst nightmare shows up during the fox's attack, it gets transported away with Minato and the fox, then I arrive and see you in the area with Naruto's parents and the fox without the creature in sight.

After that, along with you mentioning that you're the imitation of a dog, it really wasn't hard to put it together and figure out that you and the creature are one and the same," Hiruzen explained and I tensed up while looking at him warily, just as Naruto started squirming slightly and I nuzzled him.

"What are you going to do to me now that you know? Are you going to kill me?" I questioned with narrowed eyes and Hiruzen raised a hand.

"Relax, you haven't proven that you're a threat to the village so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and if Minato and Kushina trusted you enough to raise Naruto, then I'm going to give you a chance but in return, you're to join our village's ninja ranks since you can make enough Ryo and combine that with Minato and Kushina's funds to support Naruto and yourself for a very long time.

There's one other thing, you'll have to explain why and how you are a dog now when you were that creature before so will you accept?" Hiruzen inquired and I frowned as I started thinking about what to do next.

I didn't trust Hiruzen and Jiraiya because I knew almost nothing about them so I was about to refuse, but the problem is that I had nowhere to go and knew nothing about this new world I found myself in and who knows what happened between the time after I got assimilated and regained my humanity in this world. What was also a problem is that I had no money and living on the run is no place for a child so I couldn't let Naruto live that kind of life and I knew that I didn't have any choice but to agree.

"Alright, I'll accept because I have no other choice and there's nowhere else to go," I agreed reluctantly and Hiruzen smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that so how about you explain what you are and how you are able to change your form in such a manner," Hiruzen suggested and I let out a laugh that didn't reach my eyes.

"Honestly, I have no idea what I am but I can tell you this, I used to be a normal human without the ability to change into a monster until..." I trailed off with a haunted expression as I recalled being raped before being assimilated and I suddenly felt violated in the worst way possible while I trembled from the horrific trauma I experienced.

"Seth?" Jiraiya asked in concern and I snapped out of it while shaking my head to try and forget what I've been through.

"S-Sorry...anyway, as I was saying, I used to be human until I encountered a creature that makes your darkest nightmares look like a picnic," I told them and Hiruzen started stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"Interesting, and what was this creature?" Hiruzen inquired.

"I have no idea what it really was or what its origins are, but the scientific notes I found in an old abandoned research facility described that they also encountered the creature and were able to discover that the thing was an alien lifeform that's able to assimilate and imitate any organic lifeform down to the cellular matter, replicating memories, personality, and mannerisms so perfectly that no one would be able to tell the difference.

Unfortunately, the alien was hostile and it attacked the researchers one by one until the building was destroyed from massive explosions by who I assume to be the only survivor that managed to stay alive but chances are that he didn't make it, only the problem was that the thing somehow survived and it must've been hibernating for decades until I showed up and it...it assimilated me and the next thing I know, I'm here in this village after somehow regaining my humanity again and now I'm going to be the father of an orphan," I explained while Hiruzen and Jiraiya were rendered silent by what they just heard until Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"That's...unlike anything I have ever heard of before but it sounds like you now have a Kekkei Genkai," Jiraiya said and I was looking at him strangely.

"I'm sorry, what's a Kekkei Genkai?" I inquired in confusion.

"Allow me to explain, a Kekkei Genkai is an anomaly in your DNA that allows you to perform unique abilities that are only passed down through genetics and what you're describing is that you now possess a Kekkei Genkai that enables you to shapeshift into anyone or anything that's organic while also absorbing any lifeform.

This is something I have never heard of before and I have seen many things over the years, which is why your abilities would be beneficial to the village and you would help us greatly if any problems were to occur. So, do you think you could give us a demonstration?" Hiruzen asked but it didn't sound like a request as I shook my head.

"No, I'm not going to do that because the...morphing process is highly disturbing, really messy, and I'm not sure your sanity will stay intact once you see me change into another form," I refused firmly and Hiruzen's eyes narrowed before Jiraiya raised a hand.

"Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to lend my assistance by granting you my spy network so that we could figure out how this tragedy happened and why Kushina's seal malfunctioned before the fox was unleashed into the village," Jiraiya cut in to try and ease the tension and I perked up since this was my chance to tell them what Minato told me.

"Actually, I know how this happened," I announced and they instantly looked at me in surprise.

"You do?" Jiraiya questioned and I nodded.

"Well, before Minato died, he told me that a man with an orange spiraled mask was responsible and that he's someone by the name of Madara Uchiha..." I trailed off when I saw the blood draining in Jiraiya and Hiruzen's faces, telling me that they know who that is and not in a good way.

"No...that's impossible because Madara died a long time ago so he can't be alive today," Hiruzen gasped in horror and shock while Jiraiya was just as shaken up as he is.

"I take it that Madara was not a good person back then?" I asked and they nodded while still looking disturbed.

"Madara Uchiha was a part of the Uchiha Clan back when the First Hokage was still alive and he had been eager for the title of First Hokage, only it had been given to his close friend Hashirama Senju and Madara did not take it well.

Madara went rogue and declared war against the village but Hashirama put a stop to any loyalists before they could do any damage and personally went after Madara himself, then he proceeded to fight against Madara while the rogue ninja summoned the Nine-tailed Fox and Hashirama managed to succeed by killing Madara and sealing the fox into his wife, Mito Uzumaki.

The thought of Madara surviving that fight and going into hiding all these years until he unleashed the fox tonight makes me ill, but it shouldn't be possible since he would be a hundred years old now if he had survived," Jiraiya explained and I frowned as I thought about how this was possible until I came to a theory that would only make sense.

"Is it possible that Madara did survive and he had been in hiding all these years until he recruited someone to continue his work in his name?" I inquired and the two men blinked at that before they started pondering it.

"Yes...that would make sense and it would have to be someone who has a serious grudge against the village, though we have made a lot of enemies over the years so it will take a while to figure out the identity of our masked enemy.

What's really troubling me is that the only way the fox can be controlled to attack the village is an Uchiha, and every Uchiha in the village is accounted for since they were put in reserve by one of the village elders so either it was an Uchiha we missed or it was someone that managed to figure out how to control the fox without an Uchiha," Hiruzen told me and Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"Sensei, I need to investigate this and see if we can figure out what's going on because it sounds like someone is working behind the scenes and using Madara's identity to steer us in the wrong direction.

I'm not going to lie, this might take years until I can discover who our mystery man is so I might not be able to spend time with Naruto, although...I could visit once a month every year to have some involvement in his life," Jiraiya offered and Hiruzen looked at me.

"How does that sound, Seth?" Hiruzen asked and I appeared thoughtful as I considered the proposal until I came to a conclusion and nodded.

"As long as he spends time with Naruto, even if it's once a month, I'm fine with this," I agreed and the two men smiled.

"Very well, looks like we're all in agreement so I'm going to get the paperwork ready for you so that you can sign it to make things official but you're going to have to take your human form if you want this adoption to proceed since no one is going to let a dog be Naruto's adopted father," Hiruzen pointed out and I nodded just as another person with an animal mask appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Lord Third, the Council is ready for you and our mystery guest," the woman informed him and Hiruzen nodded as he stood up and gestured me to follow him.

"Before we head to this meeting, I'm going to become human so do you have a bathroom and a pair of clothes I could wear?" I inquired and before I knew it, I was escorted to the bathroom by one of the masked people who had a pair of clothes after reluctantly letting them take Naruto until we had arrived at the bathroom and I focused on changing back once I was given privacy.

Seeing myself shift back into my human form was a really unpleasant sight and I tried not to throw up, then it was thankfully over and I made sure to wash the blood off of me and the floor while I wondered if there was a way to shapeshift without it being a messy and revolting process so that I wouldn't traumatize anyone and make them puke. I got dressed and looked at myself in the mirror, seeing my normal slightly tanned skin, red hair, and blue eyes while I was wearing similar clothes that the masked people wore.

I felt my face and was simply rendered speechless at how there were no changes at all without anything being out of place, not even the slightest detail like I was my old self again but I knew different and that a monster lurked under my flesh. I gritted my teeth with eyes narrowed in rage as I remembered what had been done to me while I was being assimilated and with an enraged shout, I smashed my fist against the mirror and it cracked while I could see something wriggling under my skin like worms crawling under it and I broke down at the knowledge of what I am now.

I sobbed as I slowly dropped to my knees and rested my back against the wall while I cried from feeling violated and revolted, frantically rubbing my arms and sides to try and get rid of the phantom sensation of that thing's claws all over me and let out a shout of frustration when it didn't work and I now knew the horrible trauma rape victims went through, feeling violated in the worst way while trying to get rid of the phantom sensation of your attacker touching you but failing.

I sniffled as I stood up and wiped my cheeks to get rid of the tears and I let out a shaky breath as I looked at my reflection one last time and exited the bathroom, meeting up with Hiruzen and Jiraiya as they saw me and I nodded to show that they were looking the same person who used to be a dog not too long ago.

"So, this is what you look like as a human?" Jiraiya inquired and I looked at him as we walked together to the meeting room.

"Yeah...let's get this meeting over with," I muttered with a sour expression and the others looked at each other as I took Naruto back and made sure he was secured in the baby carrier before we arrived at two double doors, then they opened and I was escorted into the meeting room before I could see many people stop whispering and staring at me before Hiruzen headed to the seat at the head of the room with me right behind him.

"Sorry for the wait, now I hereby declare this meeting underway," Hiruzen stated and I let out a quiet shaky sigh as the meeting got started and wondered what would happen to me once the meeting was over.

* * *

As the meeting dragged on, I was lost in thought about my whole situation and tried to figure out the amount of knowledge that was now in my head and I was astonished that there was so much of it, not to mention that I had been sorting through the memories and experiences of so many forms that appeared to be limitless...telling me that this thing had been all over the universe and assimilated so many lifeforms for God knows how long.

What disturbed me was the memories of human scientists and soldiers that had been absorbed by the Thing and I now had their experiences and skills, which felt very wrong since it was like I was violating the dead and it made me very uncomfortable just as I heard one of the councilmen, Inoichi, offering to take a look into my mind so that he could make sure that I wasn't suffering from any mental issues or was a threat to the village.

I was confused at first then I realized what he meant by going into my mind by using some kind of telepathy and I was more than uncomfortable at that, but I knew that this was the perfect chance to find out if I was the original consciousness or the imitation so I hesitantly agreed and Inoichi approached before placing a hand on my head.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Inoichi declared and everything went black as I felt an unknown presence enter me while I was trying to control my alien instincts that wanted to assimilate the intruder out of self-preservation.

The next thing I knew, I heard the sound of raging winds and opened my eyes before they widened at the sight of the familiar arctic wasteland with the ruined research base nearby and my eyes welled up from the stress since I had hoped that I would never see this horrible place again.

"This is your mind? It doesn't look like something a person should have," Inoichi stated while he was looking around and I looked away from him.

"Let's just do this," I muttered with a haunted expression and I noticed Inoichi looking at me in concern before we started exploring.

Before I knew it, Inoichi had examined what he had decided to call my Mindscape and didn't find any problems that were a cause for concern but then we came across a giant cave that had a large gate with a tag covering what I assume to be the lock while the sound of menacing growls came from the large sealed up cave.

"What the fuck is that and what's making those noises?" I questioned warily as Inoichi got close to the large gate, then he quickly jumped back when massive claws shot out of the gate to try and impale him while I yelped and backpedaled a few feet away with a startled expression.

I was clutching my chest and gasping heavily as I tried to recover from the scare, then my eyes widened when the interior of the cave got brighter and I saw the fox that had been sealed up in me but his fur was a darkish brown than the orange-red I was familiar with and I could see the fox growling with a displeased scowl before he pulled his human-like paw back and sat up to display his full size in an effort to intimidate us.

**"So, one of my new jailers and the mind walker has deigned to grace me with their presence...what the fuck do you two want?"** the fox questioned rather rudely as he leered down at us like we were nothing but lower than dirt while I was simply in awe at how majestic he was with his large size and nine beautiful tails.

"You're the Nine-tailed fox...but you look different than the last time I saw you," I spoke up after clearing my throat nervously and the fox huffed as he laid down and shot me a glare.

**"It's to be highly expected after being torn in half by one of you filthy humans and sealed up into two disgusting monkeys...but you aren't human at all, are you shapeshifter?"** the fox pointed out as he stared at me with his blood-red eyes and I shivered from the intense malice and hate that was coming off of him like a tidal wave as I tried to keep it together.

"No...I'm not and I never expected my mindscape to look like this," I said and the malevolent chuckle made me feel unsettled as the fox shot me a twisted grin.

**"Yes, this is the very place where your life changed forever and you have become unlike anything I have seen in this world, which intrigues me so I'll be watching your progress as you try to survive in this hellish world,"** the fox told me and I frowned at that since I had no idea what was going on inside his mind and I wanted to know why he was so interested in me.

"Why are you so interested in whatever I do in this world?" I inquired curiously and the fox sniffed as he sent a cold glare at me.

**"My reasons are my own, now get the fuck out of here and don't bother me again," **the fox snapped irritably as he laid his head down and closed his eyes.

Seeing that the fox wasn't in the mood for a conversation, I looked at Inoichi while he was staring at the fox in surprise and he looked at me before I nodded, and then we left my mindscape until Inoichi reported on what he found and then the meeting continued after that.

* * *

After a few hours had passed by, the Council had been informed of the events of what had happened and who might've been responsible before it turned into an argument between the civilians and the shinobi on what to do with me and Naruto. I didn't blame the civilians for calling me dangerous and being afraid of what I can do since I was a monster now that could wipe out the entire village if I wanted to, but what peeved me was the fact that they wanted Naruto dead the second Hiruzen revealed his status to everyone and Hiruzen shut them up by doing something that caused them to freeze up.

"Enough, that baby is an innocent child and demanding to have him killed is disgusting while Seth never asked for any of this...I'm only revealing this because he and Jiraiya made several good points on why it's not a good idea keeping it quiet from the village.

In any case, there will be no special laws protecting Naruto and Seth but that doesn't mean that Seth isn't allowed to defend himself or Naruto if any of you decide to go after them so I wouldn't recommend it if I were you. One more thing, Seth will be taking care of Naruto from now on so If that is all, this meeting is adjourned," Hiruzen stated as he stood up from his seat and gestured me and Jiraiya to follow him.

After that, a few weeks had passed by and I had gotten the paperwork taken care of until I had become the legal guardian of Naruto, then I used Minato's money to buy and remodel a two-story house that had been damaged in the fox's attack but it needed a lot of work before Naruto and I could live in it like giving the front a paint job, replace broken glass, fix the plumbing and electricity, and move out the previous occupant's possessions before giving them to his nearest relatives since he tragically died during the chaos and didn't need them anymore.

Before the house was done being repaired, Naruto and I were forced to live in an improvised shelter for those who lost their homes to the fox's attack until we were ready to move in after weeks of hard work. Once the house was done, Jiraiya had called dibs on setting up Naruto's bedroom and despite my uncertainty about it due to paranoia and distrust, I had relented in the end and allowed him to get to work on it but the fact that he locked the door and didn't allow anyone to enter until he was done made me feel a small amount of dread.

"Alright, here it is so what do you think?" Jiraiya asked as he opened the door and I braced myself for whatever he did.

I had to admit that it wasn't as bad as I had expected, seeing the former plain white walls decorated with murals of beautiful forests and mountains with smiling toads on them but what I found a little excessive was a toad-shaped crib in a corner with a few stuffed toads on it, a desk, and an empty wardrobe with toads carved on its doors.

"Well, even though the amount of toads is a little much, at least it wasn't anything too bad," I said with a look of approval as I nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm glad to hear that and you should have more faith in me," Jiraiya remarked before I sent him an unamused glance.

"Don't push it," I warned as we headed out of the house, then we spent the rest of the day buying food, clothes, diapers, and other baby items until it was nighttime by the time we were finished and feeling utterly exhausted as Jiraiya headed to the nearest hotel and I went home with Naruto, just before I placed Naruto in his crib and went to bed but I couldn't sleep as the same question ran through my head many times.

_'Would things have been different if I had been fast enough?' _I thought while I had been recalling Minato and Kushina and spent the better part of an hour torturing myself by wondering if I could've been fast enough to save them until the guilt almost drove me crazy and I instantly shook it off.

"Dammit, Seth, quit fucking doing this to yourself because what happened had already happened and there's nothing you can do about it...the only thing you can do now is honor their dying wish by taking care of Naruto to the best of your ability with Jiraiya's help," I lectured myself as I got out of bed and headed to Naruto's room, then I went in and looked into the crib and watched the infant sleeping with a solemn expression.

"Hey, how are you feeling little guy? I'm really sorry that you had to go through so much just after you arrived in this world, but I swear that I won't ever let you grow up in this world alone...your Godfather and I will be here to take care of you and everything will turn out fine.

I really hope that revealing what's inside us to the entire village is a good idea but I know that people fear what they don't understand, so I can only hope that this world's next generation will be more understanding than the current one and that you'll have friends you can trust and rely on," I muttered softly as Naruto moved around slightly in his sleep and I smiled as I turned around and headed back to my room.

As I got back into bed and tried to get some sleep, most of the dreams I had were filled with horrors of what I had experienced in that research base that made me sleep restlessly throughout the entire night and I knew that it would take a long time before I could recover from what I had gone through, but I needed to be strong for Naruto's sake since he needed someone to raise him and I promised his parents that I would look after him while they were gone so I swore that I wouldn't let my trauma get the better of me as I managed to not wake up gasping in panic and managed to get some sleep.

* * *

A/N Hey guys, I'm really sorry for not updating in a while but I was working on my other stories and I had been talking to a reviewer about making a what-if story that takes place after the first half of chapter two of this story and it's got my interest peaked.

So, what do you think about Seth arriving in the Resident Evil universe before RE 0 and he becomes a STARS member? I have been thinking about it and the thought of Seth assimilating BOWs and gaining their forms and abilities was an interesting concept that had been on my mind so what do you think? Let me know what you think about this chapter and my idea so stay tuned.


	4. Chapter 4

Six months had gone by ever since the house was rebuilt and I had spent most of it learning on how to be a ninja, practicing with my new abilities, and taking care of Naruto at the same time while adjusting to my new situation, though I suffered from nightmares, anxiety, and other symptoms that are common in people suffering from Rape Trauma Syndrome or PTSD while I've been struggling to recover from what I've been through and I've been experiencing bouts of anger and shame as I also questioned my sexual identity like if I was gay or not, but there were times in my life after puberty where I didn't see women the same way as other men would've and it had made me confused while I had been scared of how my parents would've reacted to that kind of knowledge.

Either way, renormalization has been an ongoing painful process and I was still struggling to recover from what that unholy creature did to me even after six months had gone by, though nothing could've prepared me for the difficulties of raising a child since Naruto used to cry a lot and often for no reason while at completely random times with him being fond of doing it at night, then he also had to be watched constantly or else he would somehow disappear and wound up outside the house while he also loved to try and grab anything in his short reach before attempting to eat it.

Still, one of the few things that would calm him down whenever he had a crying fit was when I would be in my dog form and curl up around him with a gentle nuzzle, something Jiraiya joked about how Naruto would become an animal lover when he grew up and I showed him an unamused look while Naruto loved it when I played with him in my dog form, though I refrained from licking him since I didn't want to infect and assimilate him while I wouldn't be able to take it if I killed an innocent baby by accident.

One thing I had to deal with was Naruto's apparent endless appetite with his stomach like a bottomless pit since he would eat a lot and never be satisfied, always wanting more and would go into a crying fit whenever he was denied any more food while everyone else and I wondered where the hell his little body stored all that food but on the bright side, Naruto was at least easy to feed even if it was a bit costly.

Today, I had calmed down Naruto after he broke out into one of his crying fits and I sighed since taking care of a baby was more stressful than anything else that was going on in my life right now as I had gotten ready to go to the market store to get Naruto more baby food since I was almost out, so I had put Naruto in the baby carrier and strapped it to my torso before I left the house and headed to the nearby market.

Later on, I was in the market and ignored all the glares being sent at me and Naruto as I had found his favorite brand of food and decided to buy all of it in one go to save further trips, though I couldn't help but wonder how long it would last so I needed to teach him the meaning of the word moderation.

"Um, excuse me, sir," a very young male voice announced from behind me, causing me to turn around and see a boy looking up at me.

From what I could see, the kid looked to be about four or five years old with dull black hair long enough to be styled into a ponytail, deep black eyes, and wore a black shirt with black pants and blue sandals while he looked like one of those Uchihas that I would see walking around from time to time.

"Can I help you?" I asked while putting on a calm smile and the kid pointed at the baby food that was in the basket.

"Do you really need all that baby food? I'd like some too if it's not asking much," the kid said and I gestured at the other brands of baby food that were on the shelves.

"Well, there is more baby food left here," I pointed out and the kid nodded.

"Yes, but that's the only brand my brother will eat without throwing a tantrum," the kid stated and I chuckled at that.

"Yeah, I can totally relate to that so I guess that it wasn't nice of me to take all of it like that and how many do you want?" I asked and the kid held up two fingers.

"Just two would be enough," the kid answered and I complied by taking out two jars of baby food from the basket and handing it to him.

"There you go," I said and the kid nodded as he took the two jars.

"Thank you, sir," the kid told me and I smiled at how polite he was since it was a nice breath of fresh air compared to the hostilities sent at me and Naruto from the other villagers.

"No problem, your brother is lucky to have someone as kind and caring as you taking care of him," I complimented and the kid blushed bashfully as we both headed to the cashier and continued chatting.

"You know, that baby who's with you must be getting really big if he eats that much," the kid commented as he pointed at my basket that was filled with jars of baby food before I let out a small hearty laugh.

"Funny thing, he's still so little and I vowed to myself that I would find out where all the food he eats goes because he's always hungry and never gains any weight! Sorry, where are my manners, I'm Seth Mercer and this little guy is Naruto," I introduced with a friendly smile and I noticed the kid pausing at the names I told him before he bowed his head slightly.

"Itachi, Itachi Uchiha...excuse me, that baby of yours is the kid with the demon fox sealed inside?" Itachi asked and my mood darkened while I pondered telling him but then again, most of the villagers know about our status so lying was pointless.

"Yes, he is and I'm also a container for the fox's yin half," I answered with my smile gone and a frown took its place.

"And...how is he?" Itachi inquired curiously and I sent him a strange look.

"What do you mean?" I questioned in confusion.

"Does he have something that makes him different from other babies?" Itachi clarified and I blinked at that before shrugging.

"Not really, just a normal six-month-old healthy baby and he's like anyone else at his age," I answered nonchalantly and Itachi frowned thoughtfully.

"Well, my parents didn't say anything, but I've heard many grownups saying that you two are dangerous and that we should stay away from you," Itachi stated and I scowled at the knowledge that certain assholes are indoctrinating children and other people to hate us, even though neither of us is the fox.

"Okay, that's nonsense because I'm not a threat unless provoked and Naruto's a normal kid like you or any other child so just because we have both halves of a demon sealed inside us, doesn't make us dangerous since the fourth Hokage's seal that was placed on us will make sure the nine-tailed fox won't ever break out for a very long time," I told him firmly as Naruto started squirming and I bounced him gently to calm him down.

"Then why did they bring Jiraiya of the Sannin to take care of you two?" Itachi asked and I had to do a double-take at that while I didn't like how this conversation was heading too.

"What do you you mean by 'bring'?" I inquired dubiously with a look of disbelief and Itachi hesitated before he answered.

"They say that the Hokage had to recall one of the legendary Sannin to keep the demons under his watch and make sure they didn't try to become one and attempt to destroy the village again after regaining their true form," Itachi explained and I glared at nothing in particular.

I was pissed and wondered who the hell is making up such ridiculous rumors so weren't people aware that Jiraiya is Naruto's godfather? It was pretty obvious that Jiraiya hadn't heard of the rumors whenever he would come and visit us once a month or he would definitely put a stop to them since I remembered the first time I took Naruto for a walk while he was in a stroller and people shouted at me to get away from them, that monsters like me and Naruto should be locked up in a cage.

At first, I ignored them and went somewhere else so that I wouldn't give them any attention but wherever we went, the treatment was the same until it bordered on harassment and I warned them to back off before I got the Hokage involved and that got them to stop for a little while until Jiraiya visited one day when I decided to go on another walk with Naruto and he came along before we got the same treatment the second we placed a foot on another street and needless to say that Jiraiya was far from pleased by the behavior.

I could recall Jiraiya ripping them a new one and I had never seen the veteran shinobi look so angry before while it was his subtle threat of sending one of his toads after them that the verbal harassment stopped but things sadly didn't change since whenever I would take Naruto out for some fresh air, people would simply return to their homes or vacate the street until we were far enough away while some people muttered things under their breaths that I had an idea on what they were as they shot me and Naruto cold looks, so I was more than concerned that Naruto would have trouble making friends he could trust.

Then again, this was a new scenario for me since, while I already know what most adults thought about Naruto, I was now talking to a child with no visible parent present so it was a golden opportunity to not only learn what any children would think of us, I would erase any prejudices that were implemented in Itachi's young mind.

"Alright, let me tell you that's a lie because Jiraiya's helping me take care of Naruto because he has strong ties with his parents and I'm raising him because I made a promise to Naruto's parents so, if that wasn't the case, then Naruto would be in an orphanage or under the care of any other foster family so we don't need to be under someone's watch and I've already told you that the fourth Hokage's seals will make sure both halves of the fox never break out and become one again," I stated sternly and Itachi's expression didn't change while I wondered what his response would be to that until Itachi appeared to have come to a conclusion.

"I see...so if what you say is true, you're not afraid that the fox won't come back and I shouldn't be afraid either," Itachi mused and I nodded.

"Exactly, and I'm glad that you understand it," I said with a small smile as we paid for the groceries and left the market before we faced each other.

"Goodbye Mr. Mercer, it was nice to meet you," Itachi told me as he bowed his head and I repeated it in response.

"Feeling's mutual, Itachi, so I hope we meet again sometime soon," I replied until we went our separate ways and I headed home while I sensed the ANBU keeping watch nearby in different places.

I was in a considerably better mood now after that encounter since Itachi appeared to be a really polite and smart kid so it was too bad that he was too old to be a playmate of Naruto while if only he could meet other kids like Itachi, then I wouldn't have to worry about him growing up without any friends but the possibility of Naruto making friends with kids that haven't been indoctrinated by the more hateful adults seems like a possibility so maybe Jiraiya was right when he said we should trust the next generation as I arrived home and had the silver-haired ANBU with the dog mask look after Naruto while I went out to go through the final part of my training.

* * *

I was with Hiruzen and a few other instructors after they had set up a simulated building that was similar to ones that I've seen on Youtube and I was to use my Kekkai Genkai to take out all of the shadow clones that were in different rooms to simulate enemy guards and rescue any hostages without alerting the entire building, so I got ready and looked at the others.

I nodded at them and stepped forward before my body started changing without becoming messy and horrific like classic shapeshifting as my specially designed clothes melded into my body until I had morphed into my dog form and while I had assimilated different animals in training ground 44 like deer, foxes, bears, coyotes, wolves, and more, I decided to use my first animal form since people are more likely to lower their guard when they see a stray dog that looked friendly like I had before I was assimilated.

After that, I padded over to the kill house and circled it to find any weaknesses so that I could sneak in, seeing a crack that was tiny but had enough of a gap for me to slip through so I headed over to it and focused on melting, then the pleasure of changing into another form hit me again as my skeleton creaked with bones snapping, teeth crunching, organs liquifying, and eyes popping as I felt my canine body droop and lose cohesion while I sank onto the ground until I had become a sea of flesh and muscle.

I shivered at how relaxing this was while my liquid form rippled and I flowed over to the crack before pouring myself inside, slipping into the building before I found myself in a hallway with doors on each side and I pictured my canine form again but thanks to the knowledge I had, changing shape was easy like I had been born with it and I could somehow store an unknown amount of mass that seemed endless while retaining my shape so who knows what I was capable now and that was scary to think about as I started reforming.

I felt the canine body began to take shape as bone grew into place, muscle flowing around the skeleton and organs growing out of the muscle and becoming solid as eyes took shape in my newly formed skull with fur and flesh growing everywhere until I was back in my dog form, though a clear fluid covered me as I shook myself to dry off and silently padded over to one of the doors, then one of my eyes slipped out of my socket with the optic stalk growing as my eye headed down to the bottom of the door and squished under it before I could see what was on the other side.

I spotted three shadow clones with both of them looking like thugs while the third appeared to be a normal civilian and not seeing anyone else, my eye pulled back and slurped right into its proper place in the socket before I noticed that the door was open a crack and proceeded to push it open slowly with my snout, then I quietly entered the room while the hostiles had their back turned to me and I simply stared at them with my flesh wriggling as I licked my chops.

Suddenly, two tentacles burst out of my sides and shot forward before spearing through the backs of the two shadow clones before they could react and they disappeared in clouds of smoke as the tentacles quickly retreated back in my body just as the simulated hostage also disappeared before I exited the room and headed to the next one, then I continued to clear the building of any enemies and rescue the hostages without alerting everyone until I was finished and left the building in my human form while everyone was waiting for me.

"So, how did I do?" I asked and everyone started whispering to each other until Hiruzen looked at me.

"You did pretty well so welcome to the shinobi ranks but don't celebrate just yet since I've been looking through mission requests and found one that's right up your ally as you would always say," Hiruzen told me as he handed me a shinobi headband and I blinked at that as I tied it to my right arm.

"What kind of mission?" I asked and Hiruzen cleared his throat.

"Just a simple C-rank mission where you'll take out an enemy camp, nothing to worry about and it's not that hard either since you'll be dealing with ordinary bandits with no shinobi training," Hiruzen reassured but I was still uncertain about this.

"With all due respect, are you sure that I should be doing a C-rank as my first mission and shouldn't I be doing D-ranks first?" I questioned and Hiruzen nodded.

"Normally, I would have you start off with D-rank missions first so that you could gain more experience as a shinobi, but our military strength had been seriously weakened due to most of our shinobi forces being killed in the Nine-tailed fox attack and the client was insistent that we send someone to deal with the bandits causing trouble, so you should have no trouble with them judging from what I just saw," Hiruzen said and I knew that he had a point so I accepted the mission and headed back home to pack up for the trip while Hiruzen had two Anbu operatives accompany me on my mission.

After that, I headed to the gate with the Anbu operatives and signed ourselves out before following the directions that had been written on a piece of paper until we stopped deep within the forest after traveling for a few miles, then one of the Anbu operatives informed me that he and his partner would be watching my progress on my mission before they jumped up into the trees and left me alone before I started moving to where the bandit camp was set up until I stopped at an opening in the treeline and peered out to see the camp.

The bandit camp was set up as a small compound with fifteen rough-looking people dwelling within while I could see a few of them patrolling the perimeter with Dobermans so that was going to make things a little difficult, but a memory of the original alien shapeshifter appeared in my mind and I suddenly recall the alien using its dog form to fool the researchers in Outpost 31 before it had been taken to the building's dog kennel once night fell and was left alone with the other sled dogs until it attempted to assimilate all of them into a group of dog-things, only it failed when the other dogs panicked and made enough noise to alert the researchers before it was shot by guns and set on fire from a flamethrower during the chaos with a few dogs getting killed in the process.

Having these memories in my head to see what went wrong, I've learned from them to not make the same mistakes as before and the skills of many combat veterans, scientists, and researchers that are in me have given me the experience I need to come up with a sound strategy to take down the bandits in the camp, then I decided to attempt what the original alien had tried to do by assimilating all the dogs and do the same thing to the bandits one by one so as to not cause any suspicion and alert them to my inhuman presence since I would rather not get set on fire and the agonizing memories of the alien facing that in different forms many times made me ill at the thought of it happening to me this time.

Having a good plan to take out the bandits, I shifted into my dog form and entered the clearing before one of the Doberman's spotted me and barked as it caught the attention of its owner and the bandit looked at me until he walked over with his dog and knelt down in front of me.

"Huh, the hell is a dog doing out here? Oh well, might as well bring him into the camp since another guard dog would certainly help keep watch of the perimeter," the man muttered before he stood up and clicked his tongue in a gesture for me to follow him.

I followed the man while his dog was eyeing me curiously and my sense of smell told me that it was female as the Doberman sniffed at me with a tilted head like she was trying to figure me out, though I paid no mind to it as we entered the camp and I studied the layout of the tents and the patrols as I could also see a few bandits getting drunk while they were cheering and laughing so I suppose that they were celebrating a recent victory or something, then we arrived a tent that looked larger than the other ones and entered it while I could see a slightly heavyweight man grinning and I spotted two naked women in chains right in front of him as they had bruises all over themselves with tear stains covering their cheeks and their eyes bloodshot from an extended period of crying.

"Takashi, what did you find this time?" the man asked as he spotted me and I felt nothing but disgust at the horrible excuse of a human being.

"This fella here came out of the forest and Izumi spotted him, not to mention that he looks like a stray so he would make a good guard dog or a breeding dog for Izumi since she's about to go into heat and that's why I brought him here," Takashi explained and the man looked thoughtful until he shrugged.

"Whatever, take him around camp and feed him or whatever you guys do with your mutts since I have two bitches to look after," the man said dismissively as he returned his attention to the women and licked his lips with a lecherous grin.

(Play One Last Thing by Ennio Morricone)

I felt nothing but fury at what those women had been put though since it was clear that they had been raped more than once by this disgusting pig, something I understood all too well as I was guided out of the tent and decided that I was going to save him for last since the last thing I wanted him to feel is nothing but fear before I ripped him apart, just as I was led around camp and introduced to the other bandits while the day had gone by with me keeping watch as the men continued on with their day until night had fallen and I was taken to a fenced-off area where the other dogs slept until I headed inside with Izumi and the cage door was locked after it shut, leaving me with Izumi and the other Dobermans.

I moved to the middle of the cage and laid down as I gazed at the other dogs stoically while the Dobermans watched me, then Izumi came over and leaned in to sniff me as I turned my head at her and tilt my head to make myself look confused until I caught her scent that told me she was going into heat and the scent of her pheromones got my attention as she licked at my snout while I tried to ignore her, then she suddenly mounted me and nothing but pure panic shot through me as I knocked her off and backed away with horrific flashbacks of the original alien raping me flooding my mind as terror flooded my system until I managed to calm down after going through an anxiety-fueled panic attack, then I slowly approached Izumi as she turned around and showed me her damp spade while I felt revolted at the thought of having sex with an animal to assimilate her since my semen can also infect and assimilate organic creatures.

I couldn't go through with it, but that didn't mean I couldn't assimilate her by merging with her as I climbed up onto Izumi's back with my front paws gripping her hips and I definitely was going to hell for killing innocent animals so I felt sick for what I was about to do.

I formed a tiny sharp bone on one of my paws to pierce her flesh and she couldn't even feel it due to how tiny it was as I was struggling to keep calm and not break down from how Izumi reminded me of a Doberman my parents and I used to own before he had passed away from old age and I loved that dog so much as a kid that losing him was devastating and what I was about to do was like losing him all over again.

(Play The Real Thing by Ennio Morricone)

I could sense the infection taking hold in Izumi as I started pressing my hips against her and quickly shot out insectoid stingers from my body before they hit Izumi and the other dogs while the paralyzing toxin should prevent any of them from calling out for help and make the assimilation process painless as possible while I felt guilty for what I was doing since these dogs were innocent and just following their masters' orders but it was too late to back out now as my stingers in the other dogs quietly cracked into tentacles that melded with them as Izumi slowly slumped to the ground and I could pick up the helpless fear in her animal brain as my chest wriggled and tendrils formed before painlessly burrowing into her flesh and spread throughout her entire body.

Izumi let out a weak whine as my hind-legs straddled her tighter until they were simply squeezing against hers before I pressed downward with my head, neck, and the entire length of my body with my fore-legs wrapping around her barreled chest and my weight becoming heavier on Izumi until my hind-legs started sinking into hers with my mind starting to be overflowed with pleasure at the wealth of biological information the Dobermans contained with their memories, skills, and DNA copied and stored in my vast biological database, then my hips joined in the merging as our lower halves were becoming one while the tentacles coming from me started pulling the other dogs to us as they were completely limp and being dragged over until they pressed against me and also started swirling and melding into an amalgamation of one singular being composed of canines that looked like they were fused together into an abomination of nature itself.

I panted with a low warbling sound of pleasure that sounded unnatural while my torso melded together with Izumi's as our flesh zipped together with our fore-arms becoming one and splitting into two more arms as our shoulders sank into each other and let out quiet cracks, then my head slid down right next to Izumi's and I pressed my cheek against hers and rubbed against her head as my eyes rolled back with half our heads fusing together as the Dobermans finished assimilating with me and I stood up before stumbling around the cage with eyes, paws, and canine heads on different areas of my mutated body as the pleasure of assimilating more than one organic lifeform was so intense that we promptly melted into nothing but soupy flesh and muscle while it was like I was orgasming from it alone.

After that, we split apart in our liquid state and rose up with our bodies forming back into our normal canine forms until we were all near each other like nothing had happened and I started examining the replicated Dobermans, seeing nothing out of place but it was the blank and emotionless stares on their faces that were the only things unnatural about them and I could feel them like they were a part of me while I was a part of them as some kind of hive mind, then I looked at the gate and padded over to it as the dog-things followed me in sync before we stopped in front of the chain-linked fence and I had an idea that could get us out after recalling a story I once read on the internet.

I stepped forward until my head was pressed against the fence and pushed through the diamond-shaped holes with my flesh, muscle, organs, and bones being sliced through by the fence while I phased through it like a gooey lump of dough through a pastry chef's firmly squeezing fingers until I was on the other side and shuddered at how bizarre that felt with the other dog-things following me before they all stood on either side of me.

Knowing what to do, I sent mental commands to the other dog-things to only assimilate most of the bandits in the camp quietly while I dealt with the leader before the replicated Dobermans went their separate ways and I focused on the bigger tent as I headed over to it and stopped at the entrance while I pondered what to do with the leader since that sick bastard didn't deserve to die a pleasant death after treating women like objects, then I had an idea while I could make him think that he was having sex with a woman to lower his guard since he wasn't exactly all that bright, so a few words whispered into his ear and I'll have him wrapped around my little finger until it was too late.

I should be more than concerned that I had been killing animals and adding their forms to me for the past six months until I've moved on to people now without a second thought but I had a job to do and I couldn't afford to screw up, so I concentrated and focused on changing into a female form when the process began now that I had female chromosomes among my library of genetic acquiring.

I rose up to my back paws as my hips snapped forward with my legs getting thicker and holding more muscle as they altered into a digitigrade stance as well as my shoulders moving forward and settling into a humanoid position while my fore-legs started popping into arms with my paws shifting and changing to a humanoid shape, then my barreled chest started compressing and firming up with pure muscle until the changes finished and I examined myself to see that I was a male humanoid Malamute that every furry would dream for as I looked at my pawed-hands and turned them this way and that in morbid fascination.

Now that I was a combination of a human and canine, it was time for the next step as a warmth started radiating out from within my abdomen that bordered somewhere on the edge of pleasurable before I quietly moaned to myself with a blissful smile and hugged my own waist with my arms while I was glad that I could make shapeshifting pleasurable and wondered if this was how the original alien felt back then whenever it changed into a different form.

"Oh...this feels so good," I murmured as my quiet breathing got heavier.

In my arms, I could feel myself changing with my waist narrowing and I heard joints popping as my hips expanded as well as my legs getting slimmer while the changes felt incredible, then my hands began to roam and explore my new hourglass figure as I let out a quiet gasp when I grabbed a handful of my ass and felt them swelling up into a heart shape until I felt my arms changing as well with body mass being sucked in from my arms, up from my waist, and to my flat chest until my nipples started tingling.

I looked down and witnessed my nipples growing out while my areolas swelled and expanded around them before my pecs started pushing forward into mounds that were undeniably forming into breasts as I instinctively reached up to grab and grope my new swelling assets before the wall of pleasure flowing through my system made me gasp at how sensitive my new nipples were and that simply touching them is driving me to the brink of orgasm.

I realized that I needed to let go of my new breasts before my erect canine cock that slipped out of its sheath would unleash my infectious seed onto the ground and suddenly aware of it, I realized that something was different as it was still rock-hard and ready to burst, but getting smaller and shrinking with every second as I looked down to see how much it shrunk and found out that I couldn't see it past my now b-cup breasts as I watched my growing mounds bounce with every wriggle from my flesh.

Suddenly, my throat felt tight as I let out a gasp with my voice getting higher and more feminine as the heat went to my head and my masculine canine features rearranging to more female ones as my male equipment, the only thing that showed that I used to be a man, was throbbing and practically screaming for attention as the final stage of the transformation began with it shrinking away yet the sensations coming from it seemed to grow more intense the smaller it gets until I felt the satisfying sensation of my balls sliding into me with my insides rearranging and my testicles changing into ovaries while what's left of my cock finished shrinking into a clitoris and I panted as the changes finished until the warmth went away while I struggled to retain my current form.

I managed to calm down before could start masturbating and shuddered from how good the changes felt until I took up a seductive stance and entered the tent with my hips swaying while I felt eager in teaching the bandit leader a lesson before assimilating him none too gently.

* * *

Later on, I left the tent with the bandit leader while he held a blank expression like the Dobermans as the formerly chained up women followed us meekly while staring at me with fear in their eyes after they had seen me assimilate their rapist unpleasantly and in a disturbing manner until the dog-things met up with us as the rest of the bandits followed, who had the same emotionless expressions on their faces until I looked at the women and hated how they flinched when I made eye-contact with them.

"Listen, the hidden leaf village is not far from here and you two can apply for asylum, so find some clothes to get dressed in and head over there because the Hokage is a good man and he will help you," I instructed and the women hesitated until one of them looked at me.

"Thank you..." the woman told me before she and her companion hurried over to one of the tents and went inside until they came out a few minutes later fully dressed and sent me one last grateful look until they took off into the forest while I had one of the dog-things follow them to ensure their safe journey to the village until I turned my attention to the humans and other dogs that had been assimilated.

I sent one simple command and they all melted while I followed suit until we all flowed together and mixed into one large puddle of flesh, then I rose up into one solid shape until I changed back into my male human form with no signs that anyone had ever been here as I walked away from the now-empty camp and headed into the forest where the Anbu were waiting for me, then I met up with them and I couldn't see their expressions because of the animal masks covering their faces but their body languages told me that they were very tense from how I just wiped out a bandit camp easily with no help and I didn't blame them since I could assimilate everyone in the entire hidden leaf village without anyone knowing about it until it was too late, which was a frightening thought when I think about it and it shows that the original alien would've assimilated all organic life on my world in an entire year if nobody was aware of it and what really scared me is just how easy it was assimilating everyone and everything in that camp like they were nothing.

Either way, we traveled back to the village and I reported to Hiruzen that the bandits had been taken care of before I was complimented for a job well done and handed my pay, which was a generous amount in this world before I headed home and thanked the silver-haired Anbu operative for looking after Naruto while I was gone before the young man left and the last dog-thing snuck in to avoid getting seen by anyone, just before it merged into my body and I focused on sorting through all of the new memories that were in my head so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed by the information.

After that, I was busy looking after Naruto and putting him in his crib so that he could sleep when I felt a pull in my mind and before I knew it, I found myself in my mindscape and stood in front of the large gate with massive red eyes gazing menacingly back at me through the darkness.

**"So, you just went through your first mission as a ninja and absorbed all those humans and canines," **the fox rumbled and I tensed at his hot breath blowing out of the cage and hitting me in the face.

"Yeah, I did and how did I get here anyway?" I questioned and the fox huffed as he glared at me coldly.

**"I simply summoned you here and the reason why you're here is that I sense that you are troubled by taking those lives so I'm going to tell you only one thing, drop it,"** the fox told me stoically and I flinched from the fact that he was able to read me so easily.

"You might think it's easy, but I've never killed anyone before and those dogs were innocent so while the bandits deserve it after what they did to those women, it scares me just how easy it was and it's got me wondering if I'm going to become a monster," I admitted and the fox's mouth appeared before it stretched out into a snarl.

**"You're already a monster, boy, but you'll need to accept that you'll have to kill if you want to survive in this world so quit acting like such a fucking pussy and man up or you won't survive for long," **the fox retorted with no sympathy in his voice and I glared at him.

"Screw you, I've had my life upended and was traumatized by an unholy monster that shouldn't ever exist after losing my father in an accident so don't you dare lecture me when you have no fucking idea what it's like!" I shouted hotly and was startled when the fox growled and slammed his hand against the bars before the darkness cleared up and he rose to his full height as he bristled and sent me a look of terrifying fury as I felt his demonic presence starting to suffocate me.

**"Insolent little shit, you are lucky this cage is keeping me back or I would dismember you for that insult and rip out your spine to use as a toothpick! Let me tell you something, this world is shit and filled with disgusting monkeys that destroy everything they touch with their pathetic wars and greed while they simply pollute the air around them with their filthy presence alone, so I will get out of this disgusting seal and do this entire rotting world a favor by ridding them all!**

**Get out and don't you fucking come back until you learn proper respect for someone as powerful and feared as me!" **the fox snarled before I was suddenly ejected from my mindscape and found myself in Naruto's room as I felt disorientated and shook my head to clear the cobwebs.

Hearing the rage and frightening hatred that was in the fox's voice before he kicked me out of my mindscape, I shivered and wondered what the hell happened to him in his life for him to hold such an intense animosity against humanity and it made me realize that I know nothing about the fox in general so I decided that I would look up the history of this village to see if I could find out any information on the fox and get a better understanding of how he thinks, just before I sent one last look at Naruto and left his room so that I could go to bed and get some sleep.

* * *

A/N Man, I had forgotten how much of a hateful bastard Kurama was back in the original Naruto anime and manga and I don't blame him after suffering from centuries of hell by humanity so it's a good thing he's mellowed out over the years thanks to Naruto and now Seth is going to see if he can get a better understanding of the cranky tailed beast by looking for any information on him so good luck to him.

Anyway, you could see that Seth hates rapists more than anything after what he's been through, and the female Doberman attempting to get Seth aroused by mounting him caused a trigger in his PTSD where an anxiety-fueled panic hit him and he frantically got her off of him, so it's going to be possibly years before he can consider being intimate with someone and he could use one of the thing-creatures since they are already assimilated so there's no danger of killing other people by accident, though I have decided to have Seth be homosexual and only one person I can think of that Seth won't be able to assimilate is Kurama himself since the giant fox isn't organic and made up of a mass of energy so I'm considering pairing them up together but as for the time it will take for them to be comfortable enough to get intimate with each other is during Naruto's three-year training trip with Jiraiya since that would make sense in a realistic way.

Let me be clear that this is the first time I'm writing a yaoi fic so I'm really nervous about how it will turn out since I've never done something like this before and I'm worried I'll screw it up because I've read other yaoi fics before and they weren't really that good, no offense to the writers that created them so any advice would help since I want to do this right and make the relationship feel real.

Also, because of the vortex that brought Seth to the Naruto world, he will be able to control other thing-creatures like a hive mind and take in their mass after merging with them while still looking the same afterward like what was seen in the video game series Prototype so the shapeshifting and absorption will be more advanced now because of it while Seth had clothes created from a special silk that'll change with him so that should put you all at ease since it's better than Seth ripping through outfits one after the other and being forced to buy more.

So, let me know what you think about this chapter and stay tuned.


	5. Chapter 5

If an outsider traveled to the Hidden Leaf Village, he or she wouldn't be able to tell of the catastrophe that hit the village two years ago which caused so much property damage and took many lives since the reconstruction efforts were already finished and the survivors had quit mourning the loss of their loved ones while continuing with their lives, though that didn't mean that the village's inhabitants were more accepting of me and Naruto because people would often scatter with murmurs whenever I would take Naruto on a walk through the village and Jiraiya would accompany me during his once a month visits.

While nobody was stupid enough to risk the wrath of the toad sage by speaking their opinions of the blond toddler and me out loud, they sure as hell wasn't showing sympathy either and Jiraiya was less than pleased when I informed him of the knowledge I had learned of how he was seen as our jailer rather than being my friend and Naruto's godfather, but we had to admit that it wasn't stupid or illogical to think about so we would sometimes spend time discussing ways on how to make the population of the village stop being afraid of me and the kid.

As for Naruto, taking care of him became an even harder task once the little boy learned how to walk and despite his short chubby legs, the kid was insanely fast while always running from one room to another and never taking breaks so I tried to keep him at bay with a baby fence but he somehow ends up escaping, then I discovered that the only way to make him stay still for a prolonged amount of time was to play with him in my dog form like I always do and I always end up utterly exhausted after an hour or so while that's if I don't come home from a mission very tired.

Despite this, there was always somebody willing to play with Naruto since the kid had a talent for lighting up the mood of anyone who would spend more than a few minutes with him and the times in which Jiraiya and I were present at the same time were always the most fun and pleasant while we would be the only ones in which Naruto is the first to fall asleep first.

Speaking of that, today was going to be one of those days while I was heading home after returning to the village and reporting to the Hokage while I had a smile on my face since Jiraiya was visiting today and he had decided to look after Naruto while I was gone, so it was going to be nice relaxing for the day with family.

I took a moment to think about that since I originally wasn't sure about Jiraiya because he was a "Super Pervert" as he liked to call himself and it didn't give me a very good impression of the man, but imagine my surprise when he showed how much of a genius he was in the art of sealing and my view of him improved while he showed none of his perverted tendencies around Naruto, which he explained that he was still a man with standards and how his old teammate Tsunade would make him wish he was dead if he so much as tried to corrupt Naruto and she was to ever find out about it since Naruto had a slight connection to her family, though I made sure to remind him that Tsunade wouldn't be the only one he had to worry about if I ever caught him trying to be a bad influence to Naruto and Jiraiya paled at that.

Either way, I pushed those thoughts aside as the house came into view and I was happy to spend a fun afternoon with Naruto and Jiraiya while I entered the house and removed my sandals before placing them next to the door.

"Hey, I'm home!" I announced while putting my keys and wallet on the table next to the door until I headed into the living room to see the dog Anbu playing with Naruto while Jiraiya was nearby.

"That's good since we were waiting for you," Jiraiya responded as I noticed two small familiar toads alongside him, one who was green with gray bushy eyebrows and a goatee of the same color while the other was greenish-yellow with a bulbous purple head and thick purple lips.

"I believe I already introduced you to Fukasaku and Shima, the two great sage toads," Jiraiya continued and the two elderly toads smiled warmly when they saw me.

"Hello, it's good to see you again, dear boy," Fukasaku greeted.

"Indeed, we're always happy to see that you're doing well," Shima added and I lowered my head into a respectful bow.

"Lord Fukasaku, Lady Shima, it's nice to see you both again so might I ask the reason for your visit?" I inquired curiously as I raised my head.

"The great toad sage had requested to see both you and Jiraiya-boy so, now that you have finally arrived, we must head to Mt. Myoboku immediately," Shima explained and Fukasaku nodded in agreement.

"We'll travel there via reverse summoning," Fukasaku added and I was puzzled by that.

"Um, sorry if I sound rude but I don't have a toad summoning contract so how are you going to bring me there?" I asked in confusion and Fukasaku smiled assuringly.

"Not to worry, we have a solution to that so let me see your hand," Fukasaku instructed and I walked over to him before I reached out, then the male toad placed his hand over mine and closed his eyes until his hand started glowing blue.

"Sage Art: Seal of the Toads," Fukasaku muttered before I felt my palm tingling and the elderly toad was finished as he took his hand away, then I saw the kanji for oil engraved on my palm as I studied it with a look of interest.

"That's a special seal that will allow you to be reverse summoned by the toads and let you summon any toad you want, though bear in mind that it will only last a day before it fades and it will be more than enough for our current endeavor," Fukasaku explained and Shima cleared her throat.

"Okay, let us be off then," Shima said as she and her husband appeared to focus and I felt a familiar sensation of being transported somewhere.

In just a second, Jiraiya and I were no longer inside the living room and found ourselves in the middle of what appeared to be Mt. Myoboku before I was rendered astonished at my new surroundings and marveled at the natural beauty of the toads' home for the first time.

All around us were giant plants and mushrooms and beautiful flowers that I have never seen before, nor knew that they existed while multiple rivers and streams flowed through the mountain, then I noticed the many toad statues scattered around the place and couldn't help but find the place oddly familiar until it took a second for me to realize what Jiraiya's inspiration was to decorate Naruto's bedroom two years ago.

"So, what do you think of our home, dear?" Shima asked me and I pondered the best way to answer her until I looked at the female toad.

"It's...incredible and you can almost just feel the energy around us while it is simply overwhelming...so much life that's untouched by humanity and there's nothing like this anymore where I originally lived because of the deforestation and pollution that occurred throughout history," I answered solemnly, feeling guilty that the humans in my version of earth were responsible for so much destruction and disregard for life since we first evolved.

"I see, and would you say it's better than where you originally lived?" Shima inquired and Fukasaku sent her a reproached glance.

"Ma, don't ask him such a thing and can't you see that you're putting him in a predicament?!" Fukasaku exclaimed angrily and his wife glared at him with a tick-mark.

"Oh can it, Pa, since it's not every day that we invite a non-toad summoner to our place that often, and I just want to compare!" Shima retorted irritably, the argument causing me and Jiraiya to sweatdrop as I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

"Um, better or worse isn't exactly words that I'd use to compare both places since where I used to live still has nice forests and mountains, so I guess that the word I'd use would be...different," I responded awkwardly, hoping that my answer wouldn't offend the two elderly toads since this was the first time that I've seen this place and I didn't want to be rude.

"So, you said that the great toad sage wanted to see us?" Jiraiya cut in, apparently wanting for us to get back to our current business and Fukasaku blinked at that.

"Oh, you're right so let us not make Lord Gamamaru wait any longer," Fukasaku said as he led the way and Shima made a face at that.

"Like that senile old geezer won't forget that he wanted to speak with the kids in the first place!" Shima scoffed while we continued moving through the forest and Fukasaku hopped up onto Jiraiya's shoulder.

"Jiraiya-boy, since you're here, have you thought that it might be a good chance to complete your senjutsu training?" Fukasaku inquired, causing me to wonder what senjutsu is as Jiraiya tensed slightly.

"Eh...maybe another time since I'm kinda busy right now," Jiraiya replied uneasily and Fukasaku sighed in exasperation.

"Always with that same excuse," Fukasaku grumbled before Jiraiya shot him an offended look.

"Hey, I'm helping a teenager take care of a baby right now so cut me some slack!" Jiraiya exclaimed defensively and Fukasaku sent him an unamused expression.

"Were you helping a teenager take care of a baby during the past ten years as well?" Fukasaku remarked as Jiraiya glared at him for the smartass comment.

"I don't need it because I've already mastered senjutsu," Jiraiya said before Fukasaku scoffed while also looking unimpressed.

"Then you and I have a very different idea on what 'mastering' senjutsu means because you need both Ma and me to enter and maintain sage mode, plus your control of nature chakra has plenty of room for improvement," Fukasaku lectured and Jiraiya grimaced until he sighed.

"Listen, I will finish my training, okay? I need to focus on helping Seth take care of Naruto first and foremost," Jiraiya reassured and Fukasaku hummed at that before he nodded with a look of understanding.

"I understand, Jiraiya-boy, but try not to delay it for much longer because the difference between an incomplete and complete sage mode could mean the difference between life and death," Fukasaku stated, something I couldn't help but see the logic in that while we continued walking.

After a short trip, we arrived at where Gamamaru was at and stood in front of him as he was sitting on a shallow pool and I gazed at the large red toad in front of me since, judging by the number of wrinkles, warts, and near-closed eyes, it was obvious that he was very old but I had no idea how old he was and decided not to ask since it would be rude.

"Lord Gamamaru, Jiraiya-boy and Seth Mercer are here just as you requested," Fukasaku announced, then Jiraiya and I bowed as the large elderly toad gazed at us.

"Honorable sage," Jiraiya and I both said respectfully before we waited to see what he wanted to say.

"Ahhh, I see...good, there is much we need to discuss," Gamamaru told us, each word coming out of his mouth at a rather slow pace.

Jiraiya and I waited expectantly about what Gamamaru wanted to tell us and we waited for a few minutes, but the elderly toad didn't say anything else and I was starting to feel confused and a little awkward as Fukasaku cleared his throat.

"Lord Gamamaru?" Fukasaku asked in confusion until the large elderly toad before us let out a loud snore and I started sweatdropping with Jiraiya doing the same thing.

_'Wait, did he seriously just fall asleep?!' _I thought in disbelief as I started twitching.

"Wake up, you old geezer!" Shima screeched suddenly, startling the rest of us and waking Gamamaru before the elderly toad blinked wearily.

"Is it lunchtime already?" Gamamaru questioned, appearing disoriented as he looked around slowly.

"Lord Gamamaru, you wanted to talk with Jiraiya-boy and Seth, remember?" Fukasaku reminded the elderly toad in an attempt to get to the reason why we were here and Gamamaru let out a noise of realization.

"Of course...listen up, young ones, because there is a turbulent future ahead for both of you and the little tadpole under your care," Gamamaru said, and hearing that greatly concerned me while I tensed up at the potential knowledge that Naruto was going to be in danger.

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but you're telling us that something terrible will happen to Naruto with Jiraiya and I being right in the middle of it?" I inquired uneasily and the elderly toad turned his attention to me.

"Young Naruto will have a hard road ahead of him while doing great things...and meeting terrible enemies so you will need to protect him from those enemies as long as he can't take care of himself," Gamamaru explained and I narrowed my eyes in thought at that.

"We will, great sage," Jiraiya stated in determination while I nodded as well.

"I have seen...war, tragedy, death, strange metal birds that unleash fire from above, carriages that move on their own with men and woman dressed in garbs unlike anything of this world while some of them have outfits that blend into the environment and hold weapons that unleash devastation, and behind the horrors that will be unleashed onto the world with those strangers fighting alongside the shinobi world against them...a one-eyed demon and another thought to have passed on from this world.

Be aware of them because the one-eyed demon will go after you and young Naruto, Seth Mercer, so you must protect him at all cost while remaining on your guard...that is all I have to say to the rest of you but there is one thing that Seth must hear in private," Gamamaru told us and the others were confused at first, but they respected the elderly toad's wishes by leaving me alone with the wise elder.

"Excuse me, Lord Gamamaru, but why do you wish to speak to me in private?" I asked with a puzzled look.

"Because this is something that only you must hear so listen carefully...you will go down a hard journey that will have you face the horror that had made you into the creature you are now and you will be faced with a choice, a choice that will change you forever and only you can make the choice that will either bring you on the path to letting go of the horrors that still torment you or push you down a path of darkness that will cause you to do commit the unthinkable, so you must choose wisely once you reach that time.

One more thing, you will discover love in the most unexpected of individuals and you will discover that one day so return to your home and meditate on my words," Gamamaru told me before he fell asleep once again, then I left the area and met up with the others while I was lost in thought at what I had learned.

"What did he tell you, Seth?" Jiraiya asked and I frowned thoughtfully.

"What he told me is something only I had to hear, so I need to think about what I have learned when we arrive home," I replied before Fukasaku appeared to ponder what I said.

"If what he told you in private is something only you had to hear, then it is something only you must know so we must respect his wishes and take you home," Fukasaku stated before he and Shima teleported me and Jiraiya back to my living room, where I was very concerned when could see Naruto crying his eyes out while the Anbu was appearing more than uncomfortable, judging from his body language as he tried to console the poor kid.

"What's going on here? Naruto, why are you crying?" Jiraiya questioned in concern as he frowned, just as Naruto turned to look at us after hearing his voice before he started beaming and ran over to hug us.

"You back!" Naruto exclaimed joyfully as I picked him up and held the kid against my chest before sending a questioning look at the Anbu operative.

"Dog, what happened?" I asked and the Anbu stiffened up at my accusing stare.

"He saw you two disappearing in a cloud of smoke and thought that you were gone for good, so I've been trying to explain to him that you would be back soon but he didn't believe me," Dog explained, making feel like I was an idiot as I let out a sigh.

"Oh geez, of course he thought that since we left without even saying a word to him," I groaned as I looked down at Naruto and added, "I'm sorry kiddo, we didn't mean to scare you like that so I promise that uncle Jiraiya and I won't ever do that again, okay?"

"Okay!" Naruto cheered as he wrapped his little arms around my neck.

"Alright, enough of that so who's up for game night?" Jiraiya declared and the rest of us, except Dog, cheered as the Anbu operative left the house.

* * *

After a fun and lively game night, Naruto had been taken to bed before he was sound asleep until Jiraiya and I were in the living room sharing a bottle of sake while chatting about what we had learned from Gamamaru.

"So, you and Naruto are in danger from a one-eyed demon and does that mean that we should be aware of any one-eyed people we run into? Losing eyes is quite common in our line of work so my first choice would be Danzo, the leader of ROOT," Jiraiya said and I frowned as I thought about the person in question, not trusting Danzo at all since the man would always make my skin crawl whenever we would encounter each other as I always report to the Hokage about my mission successes.

"I see what you mean and the only person with one eye that I know of is Kakashi so maybe he was talking about him," I commented thoughtfully and Jiraiya frowned as he drank from his cup of sake.

"Kakashi has two eyes, even if he only uses one most of the time and he's a nice kid so he wouldn't hurt Naruto because he used to be Minato's student, after all," Jiraiya stated before I sent him a look.

"And let's not forget that he's a huge fan of your books," I pointed out as Jiraiya flinched at that.

"And a huge fan of my books, yes, but I'm not defending him because of that, kid," Jiraiya told me and I smirked at him.

"I know, I was just screwing with you and I mean to sound rude, but couldn't Gamamaru have been more specific about this one-eyed demon? Some hints might've been useful besides this person lacking an eye," I said unamusingly and Jiraiya sighed while I drank from my cup of sake.

"Listen, Gamamaru doesn't have the context of the visions he gets so all he can do is interpret them to the best of his ability," Jiraiya stated but I was still thinking about what Gamamaru told me in private.

"Well, that vision of his has gotten me more than a little unsettled since he told us that Naruto and I were in danger, but didn't specify about what kind of danger and while I am perfectly capable of defending myself, Naruto isn't and we can't protect him from everything since it's not like we can lock him in his room or something," I pointed out and Jiraiya smiled.

"Even if you did, he'll find a way out since he always does from what you told me...but then again, that's nothing new since his parents, especially Minato, made a lot of enemies that would love to get revenge through Naruto and he already has another bullseye on his back due to being one of the two Ninetails Jinchurikis," Jiraiya told me, which caused me to nod.

"Which is even worse," I agreed as Jiraiya frowned thoughtfully.

"Still, what also worries me was the part of war breaking out with strange metal planes appearing, carriages that move without the assistance of horses, and strangers dressed in odd clothes while some were wielding weapons that unleash devastation so is something going to happen in the future that'll cause war to break out and have those odd strangers assist us?" Jiraiya wondered while I knew who those people and what those carriages and metal birds are.

"I don't know, but hearing him say that war will break out in the future is a great cause for concern since we are still recovering from the Ninetails attack and I'm not sure that the village will survive because of it," I admitted uneasily before Jiraiya patted my shoulder.

"Well, I'm sure we'll be ready once the time comes so try not to worry about it too much," Jiraiya reassured before I realized something.

"Hey, that man who was responsible for unleashing the Ninetails onto the village two years ago...Minato did say that he was wearing a mask so what if that mask had only one eyehole?" I theorized and Jiraiya perked up.

"It's possible, and he was after the Ninetails so chances are he might be the one-eyed demon we need to be aware of, though I haven't been able to find him so he definitely covered his tracks but my spy network hasn't let me down yet so chances are I will find him eventually," Jiraiya said as we stood up from our seats.

"Either way, I'll be on the lookout in the event he comes back here to try and come after me and Naruto while you continue your investigation, so I'm going to bed to sleep on what we've learned," I told him and Jiraiya nodded.

"Will do, so stay safe," Jiraiya said as we shook hands, then Jiraiya packed up his things and left the house before I found myself laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling after I had changed into a tank top and boxers.

I couldn't stop thinking about what Gamamaru said to me and I was troubled by it since it sounded like elements from my world would be sent to this one while a war is occurring sometime in the future but the things I had learned while he spoke to me in private had got me lost in thought since it appeared that I would have to face the monster that raped me and changed me into what I am now, but the part about me finding love in the most unexpected of people had gotten me confused just as I felt a familiar pull and suddenly found myself in my mindscape as I stood before the large gate with the fox staring back at me with an unreadable look.

"I thought that you didn't want me to be here so why did you bring me into my mindscape?" I questioned, but the fox was silent and kept gazing at me inquisitively as I started feeling uncomfortable until he let out a rumble.

**"I'd rather you weren't here but what that toad said intrigued me since I had heard rumors over the years that his visions tend to come true,"** the fox told me with narrowed eyes and I let out a hum while I started stroking my chin.

"So, there's going to be a war in the future and people will die during that time...but the part about the one-eyed demon is a cause for concern since it sounds like this person is going to target me and Naruto for some reason," I muttered thoughtfully and the fox scoffed.

**"Why don't you use that monkey brain of yours and think about the reason why this person is hunting you and the little brat specifically or is that too hard for a brainless ape like you?"** the fox told me condescendingly, though I ignored the insult to my intelligence as I pondered as to why this person was going to be after me and Naruto when he could hunt anyone else until the answer came to me and my eyes widened in realization.

"It's you...the reason why this person will be after me and Naruto is because of you and your yang half that's sealed in us," I said with a look of shock and the fox chuckled, though it wasn't a nice laugh.

**"Well, at least you aren't as stupid as you look but you are correct, this 'demon' will be after you and the little brat because of my power that lurks inside you both so how unlucky, am I right?" **the fox mocked and I glared at him unamusingly for the smartass comment.

"Either way, it sounds like things are gonna go to hell in the future and there's no telling when this person will start coming after us, but one thing I want to ask is that if the man who extracted you out of Kushina and controlled you had a mask with a single eyehole," I told the fox, then he started scowling in displeasure as he glared at nothing in particular.

**"Hard to forget being ripped out of my previous container and getting mind-raped a second time without my consent, but that man's orange-spiraled mask did have a single eyehole so where are you going with this?"** the fox questioned as he leered down at me.

"So, my theory was correct and it sounds like he's going to attempt to capture you again while also being responsible for starting a war sometime in the future with someone who is thought to be dead, though I can't think of anyone who is supposed to be dead and what did Gamamaru mean when he said that I would find love in the most unexpected of individuals?" I wondered and the fox just smiled sadistically while he rested his head on his humanoid arms.

**"I personally couldn't give a damn about you and love? Talk about bullshit because who would love a creature like you? Even if you found someone, just getting intimate with them will cause you to kill them by accident so it looks like you will always be alone,"** the fox told me cruelly before I was ejected from my mindscape and just stared up at the ceiling.

What he said stung, but he had a point since I'm a walking biohazard that could kill or assimilate someone by accident if I wasn't careful so what Gamamaru said didn't make any sense at all but I had to trust what he told me in private as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A/N Damn, talk about harsh but Kurama had a point since Seth could kill someone if he wasn't careful so even though the cranky fox isn't as enraged as what was seen in the last chapter, he's still cold to Seth so it'll be a while until he warms up to him.

Anyway, what did you think of the vision Gamamaru spoke of to the others publicly and to Seth in private since it sounds like Seth will go through a lot in the future but, as for the vision of elements from our world being sent to the shinobi world, that will be explained when the fourth shinobi war kicks off and the only hint I'll give you is that it involves the vortex that transported Seth to the shinobi world so I can't wait to see your theories on how it'll happen.

So, let me know what you think and stay tuned.


	6. Chapter 6

After Gamamaru spoke of his visions and I slept on it, I made sure to take some precautions with Jiraiya's help in the event the masked man came after me and Naruto for what we held inside ourselves and before I knew it, a year had gone by until I came back home from a mission that took half a week before I unlocked the door and the moment I opened it, Naruto instantly bolted from the couch and dashed over to me.

"Dad, you're back!" Naruto cheered as he hugged my legs and I chuckled before prying him off so that I could come in and shut the door.

"Hey, I was going to ask you if you missed me but it looks like I had my question answered for me," I remarked as I knelt down to hug the blond.

"Hello, how did things go?" Kakashi asked and I looked at him as I stood up.

"Eh, everything went okay so I have the rest of the day off," I replied as Naruto beamed up at me.

"You buy me a present?" Naruto asked and I sent him a look of disbelief.

"Geez kiddo, it was your birthday not two months ago and you're already asking for presents?" I questioned dubiously before Naruto's eyes started watering and his smile started to disappear until I sighed and removed a wrapped box from under my jacket.

"Alright, here you go," I conceded as I handed him the box, just before Naruto snatched it out of my hand and he unwrapped it as the box revealed to be a set of shuriken and kunai made of plastic.

"Yay, my first ninja stuff!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he opened the box.

"Yeah, your uncle Jiraiya and I thought that maybe you could start with the basics since you'll be enrolled in the academy in a couple of years, after all," I said as I ruffled Naruto's hair, though I was secretly uncomfortable at the thought of him being taught to kill people at a young age since the knowledge of this village turning kids into child soldiers was a very disturbing thing to witness.

Naruto didn't respond to what I said and simply took his present before rushing upstairs to his room so that he could enjoy his new toy as I let out a sigh and rubbed my eyes tiredly until I made eye-contact with Kakashi.

"Man, I wish everybody else could be happy with getting so little and did anything interesting happen while I was gone?" I asked and the silver-haired Anbu shook his head.

"Not really since it has been pretty quiet while you were gone, though your son always brightens up things a little more," Kakashi replied and I chuckled at that.

"Yeah, that kid always seems to put a smile on your face so thanks for watching him while I was gone," I said before Kakashi nodded and left, just as I went upstairs so that I could tell Naruto that dinner will be ready soon.

* * *

The next day, I was summoned by Kakashi to the Hokage's office and was surprised to find Jiraiya there as well before we waited for a few minutes until another Anbu operative told us that we could enter while Hiruzen was already waiting for us.

"Hello Seth, how are you doing today?" Hiruzen asked and I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Lord third, I'm doing just fine so thanks for asking," I replied and Hiruzen smiled warmly at that until he gazed at Jiraiya and started looking more serious.

"That's good to hear but I'm afraid that this isn't a social call so how has the investigation been going for you, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen inquired and the air became tense.

"Truth be told, I haven't found anything that might implicate the masked man responsible for the Ninetails attack and exonerate the Uchiha from that terrible event, though I did discover that there's a group that has been gathering information about the Tailed Beasts and they call themselves the Akatsuki," Jiraiya answered and I didn't like the sound of that.

"Hmm, doesn't sound like something we can ignore so what did you find out about this group?" I questioned before Jiraiya looked at me.

"Nothing much, just that they're a recently formed mercenary group and have managed to become well known in the past year because of their high rate of success while many villages, both major and minor, are losing quite a bunch of clients to this group because of that," Jiraiya explained while Hiruzen frowned and rested his hands under his chin as he leaned forward slightly.

"We'll have to keep this group under close watch and have they tried something like abducting a Jinchuriki from another village?" Hiruzen asked before Jiraiya shook his head.

"From what I heard, no," Jiraiya answered, but I was still apprehensive of the knowledge that an unknown group was interested in the tailed beasts and even I knew that nothing good will come of that if they decided to personally come after Jinchuriki for the beasts that are sealed inside, especially if they came after me and Naruto for that very reason.

"That's good so we'll inform the other villages about our discoveries and, maybe this isn't anything, but you can never be too cautious," Hiruzen said and I couldn't help but frown at that.

"Um, with all due respect, I don't think they'll believe anything we say and think we're trying to manipulate them since, except for the sand village, our relationship with the other major and minor villages isn't exactly all that good and even the sand village doesn't give me good vibes either," I pointed out uneasily but a gleam appeared in Hiruzen's eyes.

"Actually, that may change soon since we're making preparations for an alliance with the hidden cloud village," Hiruzen told us, causing me and Jiraiya to look at each other with wide eyes and resumed our attention on the Hokage.

"You're serious right now?" Jiraiya questioned in shock and Hiruzen nodded.

"Indeed I am and the Raikage sent a small retinue led by the cloud village's head ninja a few days ago, so they want us to sign an alliance treaty," Hiruzen clarified, but I was suspicious about this since this village's history described the tensions between us and the cloud village after the third shinobi war so them announcing that they want a treaty all of a sudden felt more than a little suspicious.

"I see..." Jiraiya trailed off and I knew that he felt the same way I did as Hiruzen arched a brow.

"But you and Seth don't think that I should sign it, right Jiraiya?" Hiruzen inquired before I cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Don't get me wrong, a treaty sounds like it would be good for us and the cloud village, but don't you find it a bit odd that hot-tempered Raikage would want an alliance with us all of a sudden? I don't know, something about this seems off," I admitted uncomfortably and Hiruzen sent me a look of understanding.

"I thought the same but if we never learn to forgive past transgressions and make an effort to forge friendships with our former enemies, then we will never attain true peace so maybe the Raikage saw reason. Besides, this can be beneficial for you and your ward, Seth," Hiruzen told me and I blinked at that.

"How so?" I asked before Hiruzen smiled.

"It is my understanding that the hidden cloud village has two Jinchuriki that tamed their tailed beasts and can use their power without any risk so, if this goes well, then maybe in the future the cloud village will share with us what kind of training they did to achieve that kind of feat and I know that Minato would've wanted for you and Naruto to learn how to use the Ninetails' power, or he would've used a different seal if that wasn't the case," Hiruzen pointed out, something I couldn't help but see the logic in.

"Well, if that's the case, then I hope I'm wrong since Naruto needs to get as strong as possible while I have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and that kind of training will prove to be invaluable in the long run," I agreed reluctantly while Jiraiya was frowning thoughtfully.

"Either way, we will need other alliances besides the sand village if this Akatsuki group is a cause to be concerned so, with the cloud and sand villages on our side, maybe we can convince the hidden stone and mist villages to join us and can you both imagine all five ninja villages finally united?" Hiruzen reasoned, but I was still hesitant about this since something was bound to go wrong if we weren't careful.

"It paints a pretty good picture, sensei, but with the mist ninja being more unhinged than ever and how much the stone village hates us, it's unlikely," Jiraiya pointed out and I nodded in agreement at that.

"Unlikely doesn't mean impossible, my former student, since anyone could've said that you helping to raise a child was also unlikely, yet look what happened so as long as there is the slightest chance to make a difference, then we should work for it until we achieve that which we fight for," Hiruzen stated while I sighed since had a very good point.

"I guess you're right," Jiraiya said reluctantly while I crossed my arms.

"Keep working on that lead with the Akatsuki since I have a feeling that the unknown attacker who unleashed the Ninetails three years ago was a part of that group and, with a little luck, we might gather enough evidence to exonerate the Uchiha," Hiruzen said and I bit my lip since the Uchiha clan was suspected for the Ninetails attack and understood that this wasn't going to end well unless we prove their innocence.

"Speaking of that, how are the Uchiha doing?" I inquired and didn't like the grim look that appeared on Hiruzen's face.

"Not good, sadly, since there appears to have been an information leak and the Uchiha learned that they are being held as suspects for the Ninetails attack while my Anbu is hearing murmurs and rumors about the Uchiha being potential traitors among the public, so you can imagine that Fugaku was far from amused by that," Hiruzen explained, causing me to curse under my breath as I rubbed my eyes gently to prevent a headache from happening.

"This is really bad, the Uchiha are going to be on edge because of that and it will only make them look even more suspicious in Danzo's eyes," I pointed out and Hiruzen nodded in agreement.

"That's why this investigation is so important because we need information on the identity of the masked man and we need it as soon as possible," Hiruzen empathized sternly before Jiraiya stepped forward.

"The Akatsuki lead seems to be the best one we have so I'll keep looking into them until I find something," Jiraiya offered.

"Good, you and Seth are dismissed so I have the treaty to sign," Hiruzen told us and we left the office before I went home to spend time with Naruto.

* * *

Unfortunately, peace wouldn't happen between the leaf and cloud villages since that very same night the treaty was signed, a masked ninja attempted to kidnap Hiashi Hyuga's three-year-old daughter Hinata, then Hiashi killed the kidnapper before it was revealed that the man was the cloud village's head ninja.

I had received the alarming news and headed immediately to the Hokage's office before we discussed the situation, knowing that it was obvious the treaty was nothing more than a ruse to have a cloud ninja infiltrate the leaf village so that he could abduct a Hyuga but there was no evidence to prove it and to say that the Raikage was pissed is an understatement since he sent a rather nasty letter demanding for the killer to be extradited to the cloud village so that he could be put on trial for attacking and killing a diplomat while also denying the kidnapping attempt on their part and threatening to declare war against us if we didn't comply.

Pretty soon, an emergency meeting was held in the Hyuga compound with the high-ranking Hyuga members, the village's elders, Jiraiya, and myself while I was feeling more than tense at how much of a shitshow this whole thing had turned into and hoped that we could find a solution quickly.

"Our main priority is avoiding a war with the hidden cloud village since we still haven't recovered from the Ninetails attack and can't afford to go to war so soon, especially not after a village that strong," Hiruzen stated while the others looked troubled.

"We all read that letter so the only viable solution is for me to be handed over to the cloud village since I was the one who killed their head ninja, so it should be me who'll shoulder this responsibility," Hiashi agreed solemnly while I was stunned to hear that.

"Hiashi, don't because we can't let the Byakugan fall into those bastards' hands!" a Hyuga elder protested and Danzo nodded.

"I agree because if we hand the Byakugan over to the enemy, then we will give them a weapon to use against us so what guarantee will we have that they won't declare war on us once they forced you to produce enough Byakugan users?" Danzo questioned and it was scary how much I agreed with him since the cloud village could go to war with us anyway once they had enough Byakugan users in their ranks.

"That's why we have devised a solution where Hizashi will go in your place, so we'll execute him in front of the Raikage and hand his body over to him and that will ensure that the cloud village won't get the Byakugan and we'll prevent war from breaking out, which Hizashi has agreed to," the Hyuga elder offered while Hiashi looked shocked from what he just heard and I was horrified that this is the solution that had been decided.

"Are you really thinking about surrendering to their demands?! So, one of them commits a crime against one of the clans in our own village and we are the ones who have to compensate them?! What kind of message will that be sending to the other villages, that we let everybody trample over us with impunity?!" Koharu shouted angrily while I knew that she was right because giving in to the cloud village's demands will send a message to the other villages that it would be okay to make threats of war against us unless we give in to their demands.

"I agree with Councilor Utatane, the leaf village must never kneel before potential enemies," Danzo added as Jiraiya sighed stressfully.

"I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I agree with Danzo since this may set a dangerous precedent...when the other villages hear about this, what's to stop them from making unreasonable demands under threat of war?" Jiraiya chimed in while Danzo looked at him stoically.

"But we can't afford to go into a war and even if we win, we would be so weakened afterward that we'd be easy prey for even the minor villages!" Homura exclaimed in outrage, then I had a highly risky idea but there was a good chance it might work as I cleared my throat to get everyone's attention.

"Excuse me, I believe that the Raikage's threat of war is just a bluff," I pitched in and the others looked at me.

"What makes you so sure about that, Mr. Mercer?" Hiashi asked curiously as I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"Don't get me wrong, we just killed one of their high-ranked ninjas on a diplomatic mission and that's a pretty valid excuse to wage a war while at least one of the previous wars was waged over less than that but if they really wanted a war, then the fourth great ninja war would have already been declared," I pointed out and the others looked like they were pondering that.

"Do you have any ideas, Seth?" Hiruzen asked and I nodded.

"Yes, it's highly risky and could backfire badly, but chances are that it might work without anyone dying so let's reply their bluff with one of our own since, even though Jiraiya hasn't officially gone back to active duty, they probably don't know that he comes back to the village once a month so let's show them that one of the Sannin is back in business and see if the Raikage's so eager to wage war against us then," I offered logically before the others frowned thoughtfully and Hiruzen looked hesitant to agree to my plan.

"That's a dangerous gamble and there's no guarantee that it'll intimidate the Raikage, Seth," Hiruzen stated as I sighed.

"I know, but it's the best option we have that doesn't require turning over Hiashi or killing his brother so the only thing we can do is hope that it works," I said uneasily before Danzo nodded in approval.

"I agree with this plan, Mr. Mercer, and it's good to see that even though you have been among the shinobi ranks for a short time, you show the makings of someone that isn't afraid of being ruthless to get the job done," Danzo complimented and I couldn't help but shudder since getting a compliment from Danzo of all people made me feel ill.

"Lord Hokage, what is your decision then?" Homura asked and Hiruzen closed his eyes before being silent for a few minutes, obviously pondering his options until he opened his eyes and nodded.

"Very well, we will follow Seth's plan so I'll send a letter to the Raikage and ask him to meet me on neutral grounds and, once there, we'll attempt our bluff," Hiruzen told us before the rest of us left the compound while the Hyuga stayed to no doubt get ready.

* * *

It took a week, but we all got ready for the impending confrontation and a group consisting of Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Hiashi Hyuga, Shikaku Nara, Kakashi Hatake, Shibi Aburame, and I were heading towards the land of hot springs, which would serve as the neutral ground where the meeting would take place while several chunin was carrying the body of the head ninja on a stretcher as the other two cloud ninja stayed with us.

"Oh shit, I really hope this works or we're so screwed," I muttered nervously and Jiraiya sent me a reassuring look while he was wearing the standard leaf ninja uniform with a green flak jacket and forehead protector.

"Don't worry, we're not going to fight and just remind them why we shouldn't be messed with so your plan will work," Jiraiya assured as he patted my shoulder, though I was still uneasy since plenty could go wrong and I wasn't sure I would be prepared to face a Kage of all people if it did go to hell.

"It better because I don't want to be targeted by the Raikage if a fight were to break out since I've heard stories on how he can shatter bones and burn flesh with those lightning chakra punches of his," I replied with my voice filled with tension as I made sure to get ready to use my kekkei genkai if this were to backfire since the Raikage is known for his foul temper and I didn't want to be on the end of it.

Pretty soon, Hiashi used his Byakugan to scout out the area and informed us that he located the Raikage and his escort, who were already at the meeting point that was a clearing between a forest and a river before we all checked our weapons to be safe until we continued walking for a few minutes and saw them.

"Hmm, he brought more people than us," I mumbled thoughtfully as I observed the cloud ninja and the large imposing dark-skinned man that could only be the Raikage.

"Focus not only on quantity but quality, so do you see the man with sunglasses and scarf as well as that blonde woman with a ponytail? Besides the Raikage, they are the ones you should worry the most," Jiraiya told me quietly and I looked at the two people he pointed out.

_**"The toad man is correct since they hold the eight-tails and the two-tails inside them respectively,"** _the fox's voice echoed in my mind suddenly, startling me slightly since wasn't expecting that but I shook it off since I would look suspicious if I didn't respond to what Jiraiya said.

"Let me guess, they're the cloud village's Jinchuriki?" I asked uneasily and Jiraiya nodded.

"Correct," Jiraiya confirmed before I gulped at the knowledge that the two equivalent of nukes was here and staring right at us.

"Shit, the Raikage isn't pulling any punches if he brought those two heavy-hitters here so it's going to get seriously ugly if a fight breaks out," I admitted nervously and started considering that this might've been a bad idea from the start.

"Don't worry, this confirms your theory that the Raikage is bluffing so he's only trying to intimidate us, now it all depends on who will give in first so have faith in the Hokage," Jiraiya reassured as we got closer, then the cloud ninja and the Raikage noticed us before they walked forward until we all stopped a safe distance from each other.

"So, you finally came, Hokage, and you brought the killer with you...good, now hand him over so that we can get this over with," the Raikage demanded with impatience in his voice.

"Not so fast, Lord Raikage, we are aware of your terms to settle this dispute but I have discussed them with my councilors and we decided to reject them," Hiruzen stated just before the Raikage started looking red in the face from anger.

"What?! You do realize that this means war, right?!" the Raikage roared in outrage and Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't finished yet because you will hear my terms, now you will not only cease your demands but you will apologize to Hyuga clan head Hiashi Hyuga for the attempted kidnap of his daughter right here and now while, as a gesture of goodwill, we will hand over the body of the cloud village's head ninja so he can receive a proper burial, as well as the two ninjas that came with him.

As you can see, they haven't been harmed during the time they were in our custody," Hiruzen offered and I could see that the Raikage was completely livid, then a suffocating pressure hit me full force while it felt like I was being gutted and dismembered slowly before I let out shuddering gasps of terror as I reached for a kunai to defend myself until I was snapped out of it when Jiraiya placed a hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

Hiruzen looked unphased by what I assumed was an intense amount of killing intent that was shot at us before the Raikage appeared to have calmed down and I was taken aback when he started chuckling and I didn't like the look of that.

"I know what you are trying to do and you got me there for a second, but I saw through your trap...still, gotta give you credit for the effort," the Raikage stated amusingly and I was puzzled by what he was talking about.

"Excuse me?" Hiruzen questioned while looking utterly confused.

"Tell one of your men to drop the transformation because he is not the real Jiraiya of the Sannin and only embarrassing the rest of you," the Raikage said and Hiruzen arched a brow.

"I don't know what you are talking about because that is the real Jiraiya of the Sannin," Hiruzen stated and the Raikage scoffed.

"Oh please, the guy posing as Jiraiya is putting in some effort but it's still not enough to fool me so nice try," the Raikage huffed and Hiruzen simply gestured at Jiraiya.

"Well, if you believe I'm bluffing, then why don't you check his identity yourself?" Hiruzen challenged and the Raikage grinned smugly.

"I see your bluff, Hokage, and I'll take it," the Raikage agreed and signaled one of the cloud ninja, a dark-skinned eighteen-year-old kid with shaggy blond hair and a large sword, to check Jiraiya before the kid walked forward and put a hand on the toad sage's shoulder before I could see him sending out a pulse of chakra to try a dispel what was supposed to be a transformation, but nothing happened and the kid looked back at the Raikage.

"Sorry boss, but this man isn't under any transformation jutsu and appears to be the real Jiraiya of the Sannin," the kid informed the Raikage, who looked less than happy and was trembling in fury as the kid went back to his side.

"Since when did he return to the hidden leaf village?!" the Raikage shouted with a look of pure rage.

"Three years ago, shortly after the Ninetails attack since the village needed help and he answered our call while he is also helping one of my shinobi raise a child," Hiruzen explained just before Jiraiya grinned.

"I even have pictures of him here, so want to see them? He looks so cute when he tries to ride his father's pet dog!" Jiraiya exclaimed excitingly and I sweatdropped at that.

"Jiraiya, please, Naruto always looks cute," I corrected while blushing in embarrassment and Hiruzen cleared his throat.

"Anyway, now that the identity of my student is no longer an issue, can we go back to the matter at hand?" Hiruzen suggested, not even bothering to hide his smile anymore as the Raikage was gritting his teeth and looking undecided until he sighed wearily and grimaced.

"Okay Hokage...I-I agree with your terms," the Raikage conceded, almost spitting out the words as Hiruzen's smile widened.

"I'm glad you could see reason, Lord Raikage," Hiruzen said and nodded at Hiashi, who stepped forward with his chin up and sporting a smile of superiority.

"Lord Raikage, I'm waiting," Hiashi said in an almost mocking tone and I almost felt bad for the large man, who was clearly struggling to give up his pride and apologize until he groaned.

"On my and the entirety of the hidden cloud village's behalf, I'm sorry for the actions of my representative on your village so please accept my apologizes," the Raikage grumbled while he looked as if he was in pain, and I wondered why people had a hard time apologizing since it wasn't that difficult saying two simple little words.

"Apologizes accepted, Lord Raikage, so I hope this incident never happens again," Hiashi said before he headed back to our group.

"Well, now that everything is settled, we should head back to our respective villages and try to forget that this unfortunate incident ever happened," Hiruzen said, just before Jiraiya perked up and hurried over to the cloud ninja while I started wondering what the hell he was doing.

"Wait a minute, it would be a shame if you guys went home empty-handed after getting here, so you can have this," Jiraiya offered as he handed the Raikage a book of some kind, then the large man gazed at it in confusion.

"Icha Icha...violence?" the Raikage questioned with a puzzled look as he opened the book and started to read it, then I felt like strangling the toad sage as I twitched and pinched the bridge of my nose to prevent a headache from happening as the others sweatdropped.

_'Oh god, what the fuck is that perverted moron doing?! Okay, I am so going to kick his ass when we get back to the village!' _I thought incredulously with a tick-mark while Jiraiya beamed and unaware of the livid glare I was sending him.

"That's right, the second installment of my successful series will hit the bookstores next month but you can now have a copy of that book completely free and signed by yours truly," Jiraiya said happily, then the Raikage's eyes widened as he read the book and looked up at Jiraiya like he was crazy.

"What the hell is this...smut?! You dare pretend to appease me with this badly written porn?!" the Raikage roared in outrage just before Jiraiya started looking offended.

"Hey, the proper term is adult literature with erotic scenes and as for poorly written-" Jiraiya started to retort and was cut off.

"Look at how I see your stupid book!" the Raikage snarled before he threw the book to the ground, causing Jiraiya to let out a cry of horror as the book was about to hit the ground with enough force to break it but it was safe when the Jinchuriki with the shades and scarf dove down to catch it.

"Yes, saved!" the man cheered victoriously, causing the Raikage to drop his mouth open in disbelief.

"B, what the hell are you doing?!" the Raikage shouted incredulously as the man stood up and looked at him.

"Come on bro, don't be such a fool, this book you just threw is pretty cool!" the man argued and I felt like clawing my ears and eyes out at what I was hearing and seeing since it was like I was surrounded by crazy people, even though I've lived in this world for three years now but there was one person back at the leaf village who was definitely insane and I was grateful that green spandex-wearing nutjob hasn't taken interest in me yet so thank god for that.

"Well, if you like it so damn much, then you can have it!" the Raikage retorted before he signaled his escort to pack up and get ready to leave before Jiraiya gently nudged me over to B as he followed next to me until we stood in front of him.

"Nice to see that there are fans of my books outside the land of fire so the name's Jiraiya, though you probably already heard it," Jiraiya introduced and shook B's hand.

"Killer B is the name and being awesome is my game! Your book is sublime but it misses some cool rhymes!" B replied before he made eye contact with me and I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hello, I'm Seth Mercer and it's good to meet you so I was wondering if I can ask you a favor because my son and I are the hidden leaf's Ninetails' Jinchurikis while we hold both halves of the tailed beast in ourselves, so I wanted to ask if you could train me on how to control the yin half soon and also teach my son to control the yang half once he's old enough?" I asked and B frowned thoughtfully for a moment until he nodded.

"I'd love to, nine-o, but I don't know if I shall because, you see, my bro has to agree," B pointed out and I felt disappointed but understood what he meant since I would have to get the Raikage's approval and he wasn't in the mood right now.

"I see...well, I had to try so maybe I'll ask once things cool down and it was good to meet you," I said as I shook B's hand and we went our separate ways after that.

* * *

A few days later, we had returned to the leaf village relieved that a war had been adverted and didn't have to surrender a Kekki Genkai to an enemy village so thank god my plan worked and no one died, though the Hyuga clan was thankful for what I did for them and wouldn't forget my good deed while I assured that it was the right thing to do before I headed home with Jiraiya and proceeded to berate him for nearly pissing off the Raikage by attempting to sell porn of all things, then I finished snapping at him and now we were sitting in the living room while chatting about other things.

"You know, I almost convinced that Jinchuriki to train me and Naruto once he's older," I said and Jiraiya nodded.

"Yes, but he has his hands tied since he needs the Raikage's permission and I doubt that will happen anytime soon, though I do plan to train you and Naruto myself to use the Ninetails' chakra," Jiraiya told me and I looked at him in surprise.

"Wait, you know to do that?" I asked with an expression of interest.

"Yes, I've collected some scrolls about tailed beasts and Jinchuriki while I also have some hints that might be useful," Jiraiya replied before I frowned thoughtfully.

"I hope you can teach us since I need to be prepared as much as possible when the masked man returns to the village to come after me and Naruto while the kid needs all the help we can give him," I stated grimly since I knew that the man responsible for unleashing the Ninetails onto the village three years ago will be back and it's only a matter of time when he'll return.

"Naruto will grow up to be a strong ninja just like his parents, so chances are things will turn out okay in the end," Jiraiya assured as he stood up and waved goodbye before he left the house and was lost in my thoughts after that until I was pulled into my mindscape and saw the same cold glare staring right back at me through the bars.

**"So, you seem to think you can take my power from me and use it to your own end, right?" **the fox questioned and I scratched the back of my head.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say it like that since it makes me feel like a thief and I don't like feeling that way, so-" I admitted and was cut off when the fox started chuckling maliciously with a sinister grin as he rose up to his full height, the sight sending a chill down my spine as I asked, "What the hell is so funny?"

**"The idea of you and that little shit controlling my power is a ridiculous notion because you and Naruto are nothing but puny ants in my eyes, though it was entertaining seeing that plan of yours being carried out so at least there is a brain in there somewhere,"** the fox said and I was slightly surprised that he gave me his version of a compliment, even though it was still an insult.

"Wait, did you seriously just compliment me just now?" I questioned dubiously and the fox scoffed while scowling at me.

**"Don't mistake that for kindness, I was simply bored and seeing that bluff through your eyes entertained me at least, but understand that I'm only interested in my own self-interests so you are nothing more than some flesh bag that just wants to use me for your own benefit.**

**That's how humans are and it's how they always will be so you are no different, even if you aren't human anymore so get out and let me sleep,"** the fox sniffed as he laid down and I still had one more question to ask him.

"Before I go, you spoke to me even though I wasn't in my mindscape so how did you do that and why didn't you speak to me before?" I questioned curiously and the fox sent me an irritated glance.

**"Because, now that you've encountered me in here for the first time, we can communicate mentally like telepathy and I have no reason to speak to you so now that your satisfied, get out," **the fox explained and I knew that was all I was going to get from him for now as I turned around and looked at the false arctic wasteland.

"One more thing, I'm nothing like those greedy and callous assholes because I care about people and you have no idea what it's like to lose someone you care about so I don't know what happened in your life to make you this way, but not everyone is like that and that kid is one of the things that keeps me going in this world filled with darkness, so I'll leave you to your thoughts and you should try to see things from my point of view," I told the fox before I exited my mindscape and stared up at the ceiling for a short time until I stood up and headed to my room upstairs.

After that, I laid in my bed and was lost in thought while I thought about what the fox told me and recalling the village history about him being sealed twice before me and Naruto has gotten me to wonder if he had been alone all that time and if so, then it was no wonder he's so bitter and hateful at humanity so I couldn't help but want to get to know him more, though I doubt that the fox was up for me getting to know him since the experiences I had with him told me that he wouldn't want anything to do with me but it wouldn't hurt to try and the best thing I could do is take things slow with an open mind so that I could gain his trust more and he might open up to me one day if I had gained enough of his trust and I nodded to myself as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

A/N So, it looks like the Hyuga Affair has been resolved without bloodshed and it looks like Kurama is starting to warm up to Seth if he gave his version of a compliment, though he's still bitter and Seth is willing to see if he could try and get to know the tailed beast more while taking things slow with an open mind, so let's hope that Seth can gain Kurama's trust and they start to work together.

Well, not much to say in this author's note so let me know what you think of the events in this chapter and stay tuned.


	7. Chapter 7

Three years had gone by after the incident with the hidden cloud village, known as the Hyuga affair and there was, fortunately, nothing that threatened the leaf village's stability so it could continue its recovery from the Ninetails' attack but that didn't mean anything eventful didn't happen in the village, few things actually and among those worth mentioning was what happened with me, Naruto, and Jiraiya.

When Naruto had turned four, Jiraiya and I had decided that it was time to start his ninja training, at least the basics since he would join the academy in two years and we wanted him to be as prepared as possible while the blond kid couldn't be any happier, only that happiness didn't last long when all Jiraiya and I taught him were simple chakra control exercises, hand seals, and basic taijutsu forms.

Naruto's training routine mostly consisted of practicing simple punches and kicks against a small cushioned training dummy, practicing hand seals, and chakra control exercises that consisted of mostly keeping a leaf stuck to his forehead by using chakra and, whenever he completed that exercise, we simply told him that he would have to keep going longer next time.

Unfortunately for Jiraiya and me, Naruto's attention span was pretty much nonexistent, and he could barely focus on a task that he deemed too dull and uncool, regardless of how many times we told him that he had to master the basics first before we could teach him the 'cooler' stuff and the fox once commented to me snidely that his yang half, and Naruto inheriting his mother's fiery personality, had something to do with it.

Either way, it wasn't until half a year later that Naruto would learn his first jutsu when we showed him the body replacement jutsu and he was ecstatic to learn it so, after practicing the technique for a few months, Naruto still hadn't mastered the body replacement yet since he still had some trouble with the hand seals, but the kid didn't give up because most kids his age didn't learn that technique until they were in the academy so he would have an advantage over them as three years had gone by.

But, Naruto's sixth birthday was coming up in a couple of weeks after that and it was a solemn one for me and Jiraiya since we had been talking whenever he would come to visit and we decided today that it was time for Naruto to learn the truth about what he and I hold within ourselves and who his parents are since he was old enough to handle it so we took Naruto into the living room and he appeared confused by how grim we looked.

"Naruto, you will be six soon so your father and I have decided that it was time for you to know some important things," Jiraiya stated as he placed a hand on the kid's shoulder, looking rather serious as opposed to his usual carefree demeanor.

"We've talked and agreed that it's better that you learn these things from us rather than somebody else," I added, looking just as serious as Jiraiya is while Naruto started looking worried.

"Is it something bad I did?" Naruto asked nervously and I shook my head.

"No, no, of course not...it's just that, well, it's that I'm...you," I stuttered since it was rather difficult trying to muster up the courage to say that I wasn't his biological father.

"He's not your real father," Jiraiya cut in and Naruto gasped in shock while I sent the toad sage an irritable look as a tick-mark appeared.

"Jiraiya, did you have to be so blunt to the poor kid?!" I shouted at the older man, who flinched as he held his hands up.

"What?! You were taking too long!" Jiraiya exclaimed defensively, making me sigh as I shook my head and returned my attention to Naruto.

"Nevermind...Naruto, you know what happened almost six years ago?" I asked and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, a demon fox called the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the leaf village and the Fourth Hokage killed it, but he died in the process," Naruto replied before Jiraiya and I looked at each other uneasily until returning our attention to him.

"You see, Naruto, that's not entirely true because it turns out that the fox is far too powerful to be killed like that, not even somebody as strong as the fourth so the best he could do was split it into two halves and seal them into two people so those two people are your adopted father Seth...and you, Naruto," Jiraiya explained before Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"What?! Why would the Fourth Hokage do that and who is my real father then?! Wait, does that mean the demon fox is going to hurt us?!" Naruto shouted in alarm before I kneeled down and gently grabbed his shoulders.

"Of course not, because the seal that keeps both halves of the fox imprisoned inside of us is very strong and will protect everybody, ourselves included. Besides, you didn't even suspect that there were two halves of a giant fox inside us until we told you and you didn't feel that there was something wrong going on?" I told him reassuringly and Naruto shook his head.

"No..." Naruto trailed off hesitantly.

"As for answering your questions, the reason the fourth chose us is that you have a special kind of chakra that will help keep your yang half of the fox imprisoned while my kekkei genkai does the same with my yin half of the fox so, if he chose two different people to hold them, then the fox would've escaped and continued his rampage while he believed that we could use the Ninetails' power for good in the future," I explained as Naruto started clenching his hands.

"I-I see...so that's why when we go out that people avoid us and grownups tell kids not to stay near us? Because they're afraid of the fox?" Naruto asked while he sounded like he was about to cry as Jiraiya and I nodded solemnly.

"And to answer your second question...your father was the Fourth Hokage himself, Minato Namikaze while your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the last known member of the Uzumaki clan so that's why your biological father decided that you should inherit her last name instead of his since he was born to a simple civilian family that wasn't well-known," Jiraiya added as Naruto was rendered speechless and started tearing up.

"So, my father died fighting the fox...and what about my mother?" Naruto inquired, then my eyes glazed over slightly as I remembered Minato and Kushina's deaths and the guilt came back while I sighed tiredly.

"She died during the attack too...many people died tragically and those who lost their loved ones that night will mistakenly blame you and me for the Ninetails' actions but don't let them get to you, kiddo," I said just before Naruto broke down crying, causing me and Jiraiya to do the only thing we could by pulling him into a hug and held him while the poor kid cried his eyes out for nearly twenty minutes.

"Listen Naruto, we understand that you may be angry with us for not telling you sooner," Jiraiya told Naruto without breaking the hug.

"But we will always love you and we will always be here whenever you need us," I added and, after wiping the tears from his face, Naruto smiled at us tearfully.

"D-Don't worry guys...I-I'm not angry...a-and...I don't care what other people said, dad, because we both have two halves of the fox sealed in us, and Uncle Jiraiya doesn't see us as monsters, which is all that matters, and if they still think we are...I will prove them wrong!

I'll become the greatest ninja who ever lived and I will become Hokage, just like my father!" Naruto declared shakingly and I couldn't help but smile warmly at that, though I was a little concerned that the hatred in this world could take him like it took so many others but a part of me reassured myself that it wouldn't be the case, that Naruto would succeed where others have failed so I should keep having faith in him.

"Of course you will, bud," I agreed softly.

"Yeah, you show them who's boss," Jiraiya added as we moved back so that we could look at him fully.

"Thank you, err...even if you're not my real father...can I still call you dad?" Naruto asked me and this time, it was my turn to break down crying as I agreed.

Not long after that, I managed to compose myself and told the others that I was going to lay down and rest since I was worn out from all the excitement so I headed to my room and stripped down to my boxers before climbing into bed and laying down until I found myself being pulled into my mindscape before I saw the fox staring down at me with an unreadable expression.

**"So, you told the brat the truth and I have to admit, he took it better than I thought," **the fox said stoically while he laid on the floor with his head resting in his hand as he gazed down at me, then I smiled softly up at him before the fox narrowed his eyes at my expression.

"Yeah...he's a strong kid to go through so much and deserves better but he still carries a smile on his face, no matter what the more hateful villagers throw at us," I replied, then the fox scoffed at that before he sat up and leaned forward with a deadly serious expression.

**"Here's what you need to understand, that boy won't last long and will give in to the hatred and despair that had consumed this world long ago...they always do," **the fox told me cynically with a strange gleam in his eyes and I was confused by how something about him seemed different than before so I filed it away for later as I sighed.

"I know you might think that since god only knows what humanity put you through to cause you to have such a pessimistic and cynical look of the world around you, but I told you three years ago that I'm nothing like those people and us being at each other's throats isn't worth it because we're stuck together so we might as well get used to each other," I said tiredly, then the fox scowled at me darkly while lowering his massive vulpine head to stare right at me coldly.

**"The day I become your ally is the day that hell freezes over because you're no different than any other human I've met, just another worthless meat bag and it's only a matter of time before you decide to use me like all the others, so don't you dare fucking pity me because you have no damn right,"** the fox growled lowly before I was booted out of my mindscape, then I just stared up at the ceiling and could've almost sworn that I had seen a terrible loneliness and exhaustion behind the fox's angry exterior as I went to get some sleep.

* * *

After that, a couple of months had gone by and during those two months, Naruto had come home with a black eye a few weeks after Jiraiya and I told him the truth before it made me question what had happened until Naruto explained that he saw three boys bullying a girl with white eyes and he stepped in to put a stop to it, then it broke out into a fight with the three kids instigating it and Naruto was forced to defend himself before he sent the kids running after using the current training Jiraiya and I taught him.

I was relieved that Naruto didn't get seriously hurt but an Anbu operative showed up and had us escorted right to the Hokage building, where the parents of the three bullies were waiting with Hiruzen in his office and the parents say that their sons showed up looking badly hurt while the kids explained that Naruto just walked up and attacked them for no reason before the parents demanded that Naruto apologized to their sons for assaulting them unprovoked while I had tried to calm them down since they were openly shouting at us, then I had Hiruzen bring the Hyuga girl to his office to prove that it was nothing more than self-defense and imagine my surprise when Hiashi showed up with his daughter Hinata.

Hinata was a little nervous, but she confirmed that the three boys were going after her because of her eyes and Naruto had stepped in to stop it, which led to the fight happening because of the three boys and the parents were more than a little embarrassed for the misunderstanding as they apologized for their sons' behaviors and swore that they would punish them once they headed back to their homes.

Once that fiasco was over, the two months had gone by and now I was in a dango shop after coming home from a mission while having lunch with Itachi Uchiha, his younger brother Sasuke, and another Uchiha by the name of Shisui who was a teenager that was a few years older than Itachi.

While I felt out of place being the only one who's not an Uchiha, Itachi insisted that I join him and I couldn't pinpoint when it happened exactly but Itachi and I had become good friends during the past few years while we even sparred quite a few times and I also helped Itachi and his unit prepared for the Chunin exams.

Itachi was treating us at one of his favorites spots to celebrate his first successful mission as a team leader and I found it hard to believe that this kid, who was barely eleven, was the same one I met in that grocery store almost six years ago and could have ascended to the rank of Chunin so quick when most kids his age didn't even graduate from the academy yet.

"So, tell us Itachi, and be honest, were you afraid during the mission?" I asked curiously and Itachi hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, I'd lie if I said I wasn't so maybe a little," Itachi admitted while Shisui chuckled.

"Only a little? Man, when I led my first mission, I was such a nervous wreck that I couldn't sleep the night before...but then again, it wasn't as bad as it appeared," Shisui commented before Sasuke started looking puzzled.

"But my big brother completed lots of dangerous missions so why should he be scared?" Sasuke asked in confusion as we looked at him.

"Sasuke, when you're in charge of a unit, everything changes because not only are you responsible for making sure the mission is a success, but you also have to ensure that all of your teammates come back home alive and, if possible, without any missing limbs," Shisui explained and Sasuke still didn't appear to understand.

"But if you have to take care of your teammates, doesn't that mean they're a burden to you so why didn't Itachi go do the mission alone?" Sasuke asked and I sighed.

"Because some missions can't be done by one ninja because, if you need to break down a door reinforced with protective seals, you need a seal master to disable them and, if you're in a search and rescue mission, you'll need a sensor and most likely a medic while it's also a matter of numbers since there will be times where two or more people will need to be at two or more places at the same time, so do you understand Sasuke?" I explained and the youngest Uchiha nodded.

"Seth is right, being a powerful ninja on your own is fine, but there will be times where your strength alone won't be enough and you'll need the help of others," Shisui added.

"By the way, Sasuke, how is the academy treating you?" Itachi inquired before Sasuke looked at him and shrugged.

"Eh, it's okay I guess since they teach me mostly stuff I already know so it's kinda boring but, at the very least, the shuriken and kunai toss practice and taijutsu are nice," Sasuke replied nonchalantly as I perked up.

"You know, my son also goes to the academy and his name is Naruto, so have you seen him?" I asked curiously and it got Sasuke's attention.

"Naruto? Does he have spiky blond hair, is super loud, and claims every five seconds that he's going to be Hokage?" Sasuke questioned as I chuckled.

"Yeah, that's an accurate description of him so I presume that you met him then," I remarked and Sasuke nodded.

"I did but, for some reason, he likes to sit beside me and no offense to you or Lord Jiraiya but given who is helping you take care of him, I expected Naruto to be stronger," Sasuke pointed out before I waved it off to show that I didn't take any offense to it.

"Well, you could say that Naruto has some trouble focusing since his body moves way faster than his brain does, but we're working on it," I assured while Shisui looked curious by what I was saying.

"He sounds like an exciting fellow so maybe you should befriend him," Shisui suggested, and it gave me an idea.

"In fact, I was about to take Naruto to the park once I head home so do you want to join us, Sasuke?" I offered before Sasuke shook his head.

"Eh, I'll pass since Itachi promised to train me when he came back so maybe another day," Sasuke refused with a dismissive handwave.

"Come on kid, I'm sure you'll have fun because there is more to life than just training," Shisui insisted and I held up a hand to get his attention.

"It's okay, I don't want to force him to come and, like he said, maybe another day and I better get going so, Itachi, congratulations again for your first mission as team leader and Shisui, Sasuke, it was nice to meet you," I said as I stood up from my seat while Shisui sent me a nod of acknowledgment.

"Nice to meet you too, Seth," Shisui replied as I left the dango shop and headed home.

* * *

After that, I had arrived home and taken Naruto to the park where the other kids were playing but their parents quickly spotted us and took their kids out of the park, making me sigh in disappointment as I watched all the kids leave the playground and not before some of the parents shot cold glares at me and Naruto while the poor kid slumped sadly, something that happened far too often.

"Don't worry, Naruto, we don't need them so what do you want to do?" I asked with a false smile, trying to hide my irritation and remaining optimistic as Naruto perked up.

"The swings!" Naruto cheered excitingly as he rushed towards them and I didn't need to ask if he wanted me to push him while I was expecting that now he had finally started at the academy, Naruto could make some friends but such a thing didn't happen because of the other kids being indoctrinated by the adults to hate us and it pissed me off to no end because of it.

Not only that, but both Jiraiya and I were very concerned with Naruto's performance at the academy since he would more often than not ignore the teachers that explained something he wasn't interested in, loudly complained about how boring their lessons were and demanding them to teach him some cool jutsus while he would also boast about how strong he was for his age and how he was going to be Hokage, but he fortunately never revealed who his biological parents were and often challenged the other boys like Sasuke Uchiha to one on one duels while also being fond of pulling pranks on his classmates and teachers.

It was pretty clear that the poor kid desperately needed a friend his age so that he wouldn't be a victim of a constant need to prove how "awesome" he was to everybody, something that worried me greatly since this kind of thing Naruto is going through affects someone psychologically and what worried me is that it might make the poor kid mentally unstable as he gets older, even if Jiraiya and I are there for him.

Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from the trees nearby and while I wasn't a sensor, my senses were sharp enough to detect that somebody was watching us while hidden behind the trees before I looked at Naruto.

"Naruto, I need to find a restroom so I'll leave a clone to keep an eye on you for a few minutes, okay?" I commented and Naruto nodded with a beaming smile.

"Sure, take your time, dad," Naruto replied happily, just before I created a shadow clone and used body flicker to move behind the person watching us from behind the nearby trees until I saw a little girl peeking out at the playground before I crossed my arms and cleared my throat to get her attention, startling her and making the girl squeak loudly as she quickly turned around until I saw that the girl was Hiashi's kid, Hinata.

"Excuse me, didn't your parents teach you that spying on people is rude?" I questioned with an arched brow.

"Sorry, err...I, um...I didn't mean to...ahh," Hinata babbled, her words tumbling into an unintelligible stuttering mess as I uncrossed my arms and kneeled down to make myself less intimidating.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble and you're Hiashi's daughter Hinata, right? If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here and why are you watching us?" I questioned gently, which calmed Hinata down enough for her to not sound so panicked.

"I...well...I-I wanted to...to thank Naruto again for h-helping me against t-those three bullies," Hinata mumbled shyly and I smiled at how cute she was being right now.

"Then why aren't you doing that instead of stalking him from here?" I asked before Hinata blushed and averted her gaze until I realized that she was far too shy to talk to him directly so I decided to give her a nudge in the right direction.

"You know, I don't think I properly introduced myself so my name is Seth Mercer, a pleasure to meet you and would you like to do something for Naruto as a way to thank him?" I inquired until Hinata nodded timidly.

"Y-Yes, of course," Hinata replied before I pointed at Naruto.

"Take a look at Naruto, and what do you think he'd like the most at this moment?" I asked, causing Hinata to look at Naruto while he was swinging solemnly with my clone standing guard nearby.

"H-He'd like for a f-friend to play with him," Hinata stuttered and I nodded.

"Correct, now you know what to do," I stated before Hinata's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What?!" Hinata squeaked out with a stunned expression and I smiled at her.

"Come on, I can see in your eyes that you want to play with him more than anything, or I could tell Naruto that you were spying on him and didn't even bother to say hello," I remarked with a smirk until Hinata started looking mortified while quickly shaking her head.

"Please no, I'll d-do it!" Hinata almost shouted frantically while looking extremely flustered and I gestured at Naruto as a signal to go see him.

"Then you better hurry since I don't think Naruto will be there for much longer once he gets bored," I encouraged, making Hinata gulp as she nodded and turned around to slowly approach the blond.

I watched with a soft smile as Hinata introduced herself to Naruto and they chatted for a little bit before they started playing on the swings, though Hinata was having trouble and Naruto helped her out by pushing her until I decided to come back by body flicker and Naruto perked up when he saw me.

"Hey Naruto, I'm back," I announced and the blond beamed as he jumped from his swing in mid-air and landed in front of me.

"Dad, you're not going to believe this, but I made a friend! Hinata, come here!" Naruto called out to the Hyuga girl, who got down from her swing and joined us.

"Really? That's great, Naruto," I said with fake surprise, though it was fortunately for me that Naruto was too excited to notice but my joy was real.

"Hello, I'm Hinata Hyuga," Hinata greeted as she bowed respectfully and I repeated it.

"And she even goes to my class at the academy, which means that we can see each other every day!" Naruto cheered as he bounced to express how overjoyed he was, then I chuckled as I ruffled his hair.

"I'm so happy for you, kiddo, though it's getting a bit late so we should probably head back home," I stated before Naruto started pouting in disappointment.

"So soon? But I want to play with Hinata more," Naruto groaned.

"I-It's okay, Naruto, we can see each other again...in fact, I-I should be going b-back home too since I d-don't want to w-worry my parents," Hinata reassured as she twiddled with her fingers and Naruto sighed.

"Bummer...okay then, see you tomorrow, Hinata," Naruto said as we went to leave, then Hinata said her goodbyes while she headed home.

I was happy that Naruto had finally made a friend since he needed this badly, but I wondered if Hiashi and Hinata's mother would be okay with it because of what was sealed inside Naruto but, considering how I prevented the death of Hizashi and that Naruto stood up for Hinata when she was being bullied, I doubt that Hiashi and his wife would mind so only time would tell where this could go as Naruto and I headed home.

* * *

A/N Looks like Naruto made a friend and Kurama is warming up to Seth since he is giving him a warning and we get to see the elderly fox showing his true self for a few seconds, a lonely and tired person who just wants a friend to ease that terrible pain so it's how I think Kurama feels during his early encounters with Naruto in the manga/anime but he's too wary and distrustful to get close to anyone since he doesn't want to experience any kind of betrayal, so his hateful and malicious self is a front to only protect himself from the pain of experiencing more torment from other humans.

Well, let me know what you think about this chapter and stay tuned.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been two years since Naruto met Hinata and only a couple of exciting things had happened, where I had been notified by the Hyugas that Hinata's mother was in critical condition from an illness and because I had become very experienced in medical ninjutsu, they brought me over to the Hyuga compound where I had to spend several hours healing Hinata's mother and the Hyuga were grateful for my help and as for the second interesting thing that happened, Jiraiya had gone to the hidden sand village to build relations and by strengthening their Jinchuriki's seal before Jiraiya had Naruto to come with him to help connect with whoever the Jinchuriki was.

Koharu and Homura naturally opposed and I was also uncertain about it since god only knows what might happen while they were gone, but Jiraiya assured me that everything would turn out okay in the end, so I spent the entire week wondering if everything would turn out okay as I continued going on missions before I was allowed to be promoted from a Chunin to an Anbu operative and went on highly classified missions until Naruto and Jiraiya came home, then I asked them how it went and Jiraiya explained that the sand village's Jinchuriki's seal had been strengthened and Naruto made a few more friends.

I was relieved that things turned out okay in the end and that Naruto made a few more friends while we were now in one of the training grounds after those two years had gone by as Jiraiya and I instructed Naruto to perform the necessary three ninjutsu to pass the academy, though the toad sage and I had come to an agreement that the academy's curriculum needed to make a few changes since it should be more challenging than what I know so far because the students need to be more prepared than that, then Naruto performed the three jutsu perfectly until Jiraiya and I nodded in approval.

"Good work, those are the three academy ninjutsu you need to master if you want to graduate and, as you can see, it's a piece of cake when you have such awesome teachers as me and your father," Jiraiya boasted, making me roll my eyes as Naruto bounced from excitement.

"Wait, does that mean I can graduate already?" Naruto questioned in realization, looking starry-eyed while I nodded.

"Jiraiya said that those three jutsus are necessary to pass, not the only thing you need but yeah, we're sure that you'd be good to graduate in two years," I confirmed, causing Naruto to beam happily as he did a fist pump.

"Yeah, take that Sasuke because I'm going to graduate two years before you!" Naruto cheered victoriously, but I held up a hand to calm him down.

"Whoa, don't get too ahead of yourself because you're not going to skip any academy year," I cut in and Naruto started pouting.

"What? But why? If I already know what they teach at the academy, then going there is pretty much a waste of time," Naruto pointed out before I sighed.

"True, but we're not teaching you everything the academy does since things like math, physics, biology, and geography might not seem useful for a ninja at first but they are, so that's why the academy is still important and I wouldn't bother sending you there if that wasn't the case," I explained until Jiraiya cleared his throat to cut in.

"Besides, your father and I are going to have a talk with the Hokage and see if he can do something about making the academy's curriculum a bit more challenging since a ninja needs more than basic e-rank ninjutsu to do their jobs and they don't even teach tree walking for crying out loud! Also, we want to teach you some other abilities that will take some time," Jiraiya added and Naruto tilted his head in response to that.

"And that would be?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Sealing jutsu, some more advanced ninjutsu, being able to dispel genjutsu and if possible, control of the Ninetails' yang chakra since it's our goal to make sure you gain some level of mastery over those abilities before you graduate," I pitched in before Naruto hummed thoughtfully and nodded in agreement.

"I see...so no matter what you decide to throw at me or how hard the academy gets, I'll pass with flying colors!" Naruto claimed as he pumped his fist until Jiraiya chuckled.

"Kid, that inner fire is something every teacher wants to see in his students so, now that you showed us what you're capable of, I think that we can fulfill your request," Jiraiya said and Naruto's eyes widened excitingly.

"Alright, elemental ninjutsu!" Naruto cheered while I smiled at his enthusiasm, then Jiraiya produced a small light brown rectangular paper.

"This is litmus paper and it's used to determine your elemental affinity so you channel chakra into the paper and based on how it reacts, you can determine your affinity and start to practice with elemental jutsu once you begin to learn it while Jiraiya has a fire affinity and I have two," I added and Naruto reached out to hastily take the litmus paper from Jiraiya's hands before he focused on pouring his chakra into the paper and it split in two.

"Aw crud, I think I broke this one so let me have another," Naruto groaned in disbelief and I smiled reassuringly at him.

"Don't worry, the paper didn't break because if it cut in two, then that means you have an affinity for wind and it's the least common affinity in all the nations, even the land of wind," Jiraiya assured before Naruto perked up.

"Awesome! I have a rare affinity, unlike Sasuke who has fire like everybody else!" Naruto cheered, only he paused and looked at Jiraiya sheepishly before he added, "Err, sorry uncle Jiraiya, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, but don't get too excited since having a rare affinity does have its downsides," Jiraiya stated.

"Really? Like what?" Naruto questioned before I cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Because there are not a lot of people with wind affinity, that means there are fewer people to teach you and create new jutsu but I do recall that there's only one other wind user in the village and he's one of the Third Hokage's sons so I think Jiraiya and I can get him to teach you some advanced jutsu but for the time being, let's stick to something simple," I replied before Jiraiya went over to a tree and plucked a leaf from one of the branches until he handed that leaf to Naruto.

"Listen up, we want you to use your chakra to cut that leaf in two, just like you did with the paper," Jiraiya instructed and Naruto didn't look happy to hear that.

"Why?" Naruto asked in confusion before I sighed.

"Naruto, we told you this a million times already so, before learning the 'cool stuff' as you so eloquently put it, you need to learn the basics first and this exercise will help you mold wind chakra. What, did you expect that we were going to teach you how to produce a tornado or something like that?" I remarked dryly with a sweatdrop.

"Well...yeah since Sasuke can create fireballs and I need something to counter that if I want to beat him," Naruto said until Jiraiya made a face at that.

"Okay, let me explain as to why that's a very bad idea because elemental chakra is like rock paper scissors and, just like how rock beats scissors but gets beaten by paper, some elements are weak against some and strong against others so, in your case, wind is strong against lightning but weak against fire.

Basically, if you try to counter Sasuke's fire jutsu with wind jutsu, you will only make his attacks stronger and they will really ruin your day because of it," Jiraiya explained and Naruto slumped his shoulders.

"What?! Then I'm never going to beat him!" Naruto whined dramatically, looking depressed as he fell on his knees.

"Don't say that, you can learn water jutsu if you want," I reassured and Naruto looked up at me.

"But you and Uncle Jiraiya said that my affinity is wind," Naruto pointed out in confusion.

"Yes, but that means that wind jutsu will be more powerful, consume less chakra, and will be easier to learn so that you can learn jutsu from all five basic elements. Think of it as the use of your arms, where your right arm is the dominant one but that doesn't mean that you can't use your left arm as well, though you use the right one more because you have more dexterity," Jiraiya explained with his arms crossed.

"So teach me water jutsu instead," Naruto said and I shook my head.

"No, you have to learn jutsu from your elemental affinity first before we can move on to other elemental jutsu and once you have your affinity jutsu down, you can master the element that counters the element you're weak against since, after mastering fire, Jiraiya here learned earth jutsu because earth beats water and water beats fire," I stated and Naruto appeared to understand what I was talking about.

"I see...man, this is far more complicated than I thought," Naruto muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course it is so why do you think your father and I don't want you to graduate too early? The only reason why we want you to stay in the academy longer is to make sure you're properly prepared once you go out into the field," Jiraiya pointed out and Naruto nodded.

"By the way, Uncle Jiraiya has fire but what affinity do you have, dad?" Naruto asked me.

"My affinity is water and since I learned some earth jutsu, I can combine it into mud jutsu and make things more difficult for the enemy," I replied logically.

"So, is it possible to have more than one affinity," Naruto questioned curiously and Jiraiya nodded.

"It's possible, but they're extremely rare outside of bloodline limits, even more than people with wind affinity so let's get started because we won't teach you any new jutsu unless we see you cutting that leaf with your chakra, now the key is to try to compress your chakra into a blade as sharp as possible," Jiraiya instructed, then Naruto got to work on channeling his chakra into the leaf while we watched closely.

* * *

Shortly after finishing the training session with Naruto, Jiraiya and I were approached by an Anbu operative who told us that the Hokage urgently requested our presence and we arrived at the Hokage tower in no time with Jiraiya entering through the window of the Hokage's office and me hurrying inside the normal way, just before I also entered the Hokage's office and could see Hiruzen sending Jiraiya an unamused look.

"Jiraiya, couldn't you use the door like a normal human being?" Hiruzen questioned with a deadpanned tone as I went down on one knee and bowed my head as a part of my Anbu training.

"Sorry sensei, but you said it was urgent for me and Seth," Jiraiya said, then the elderly Hokage sighed before gesturing at the seats in front of his desk and we went over to sit down.

"Listen up, this is highly important and you also need to hear this Seth so Jiraiya, there is no need for you to continue your investigation into the Ninetails' attack," Hiruzen stated, causing me and Jiraiya to look at each other with bewildered looks before we regained our attention on the Hokage.

"Why?" Jiraiya asked in confusion until Hiruzen started looking at us gravely.

"I'm afraid it wouldn't do any good now because according to my sources, the Uchiha clan has been planning a coup d'etat for the past couple of years and they will stage it sometime during this week," Hiruzen explained and my eyes bugged out in horror while Jiraiya sucked in a breath.

"Then why are we still sitting here talking about it when we should stop it?! God knows how many people will die once the coup happens and we will be too weak to defend ourselves against an invasion from the other villages in the aftermath!" I exclaimed in disbelief before Hiruzen smiled at me reassuringly.

"Do not worry, I already have a plan in motion so the coup won't come to pass, I made sure of it," Hiruzen assured, though Jiraiya and I still didn't look convinced and we had remained silent to not pressure the issue.

"I see...the Anbu operative who approached us said that you had a mission for each of us?" I inquired and Hiruzen nodded.

"Correct, so you see, for the past few months onwards, the demand for A-rank and S-rank missions had increased dramatically and while that's seen as good income for the village, I believe that there's more to this since that amount of high-ranked missions is unseen in times of peace.

An S-rank mission means an S-rank threat so if there are so many S-rank mission requests...well, you do the math and some of the clients mentioned men in black cloaks with red clouds on them," Hiruzen explained and my eyes hardened at that while Jiraiya looked just as serious.

"The Akatsuki," Jiraiya said grimly.

"Exactly, they're finally making their move, whatever it is, so your mission will be to find out what they're trying to accomplish with this while Seth's mission will be of a different matter," Hiruzen stated while I frowned thoughtfully.

"So, you're concerned that they're doing this to bring our best ninja out of the village walls so that they can be killed off one by one easily?" I questioned and Hiruzen sent me a nod.

"It is one of the possibilities, yes, but not the only one," Hiruzen confirmed before Jiraiya stood up from his seat.

"Alright, I'll meet up with some of my spies and see what they have so you'll receive a report from me shortly," Jiraiya stated before he body-flickered out of the office, leaving me and Hiruzen alone.

"Now that he's gone, your mission will be explained, so you remember Shisui Uchiha, correct?" Hiruzen inquired and I nodded.

"Yeah, we're well acquainted," I answered stoically.

"Good, because Shisui will be essential to stopping the Uchiha clan by using his Sharingan on the leaders of the rebels to prevent the coup from happening, but there is a good chance that something will go wrong and if happens, you are to do your part by eliminating them," Hiruzen told me and I tensed up since I knew what he was talking about.

"I see...killing the leaders of the rebels might have severe repercussions," I pointed out seriously.

"Which is why Shisui must play his part in stopping the coup because I would rather prevent any bloodshed from happening and as you said before, a civil war in the village would leave us so weak in the aftermath that we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves from an invasion by bandits or the other villages, so you are to meet with Shisui Uchiha and he will give you the rest of the details," Hiruzen said, then I stood up and sent him a nod as he handed me a slip of paper that had coordinates to the meeting place on it.

"Understood, I'll move out ASAP," I declared stoically before I body-flickered back home and got geared up for the mission, then I strapped my sword to my back and placed an Anbu wolf mask on my face before body-flicking to where Shisui was waiting for me.

I arrived at the location as the sun had long set but didn't find Shisui anywhere, making me confused at first until I picked up a faint coppery smell and I tensed up since I recognized it as blood so I followed the scent while moving down the side of a river until the scent got strong enough and I saw a body washed up on shore, making me alarmed as I hurried over to check on whoever it was while ensuring that this wasn't a potential ambush before I carefully turned the body over and was horrified to see that it was Shisui.

Shisui looked like hell with gashes and burns all over his broken body, but it was the hole in his chest and one of his eyes that was missing that made me feel like I was going to be sick as Shisui wheezed slightly to show that he was still alive.

"Wolf...is that you?" Shisui rasped quietly, using my alias to protect my identity.

"Shisui, what the fuck happened and who did this to you?!" I exclaimed in disbelief as I struggled to understand what I was seeing, but his body was in such a severe critical state so I knew that there was no chance I could save him and could only stay with him until he passed on from this world.

"Danzo...he...attacked me, said that...the Uchiha were...too much of...a threat to the...village so he...had to...take matters into his...own hands," Shisui gurgled out and I grimaced at the state of him while I was stupified by what I heard.

"Danzo did this?! But the Third Hokage wanted to prevent bloodshed, not cause any and that's why your Sharingan was needed!" I shouted in shock.

"Danzo...is convinced...that the Hokage...has become weak and that...the Uchiha must be stopped...by any means...necessary. Wolf, you must save...the Uchiha clan from...themselves so...take my...remaining eye and...use it to...prevent the coup from...happening...please," Shusui pleaded weakly with desperation in his remaining eye as he reached up to grab my arm, then his eye glazed over and his arm fell back down to the ground as his breathing stopped.

I just stared at who used to be so cheerful and gritted my teeth in frustration as I hit the ground with a fist, then I looked at Shisui's eye and felt sick that I was even thinking of going to desecrate Shisui's body by assimilating him, but taking and using his Sharingan to save the Uchiha clan was his dying wish so my chest wriggled before dozens of tendrils shot out and jabbed every part of Shisui's body before every bone, organ, muscle, flesh, and hair broke apart into tiny pieces until the tendrils went back into me with the pieces of a former human being absorbed until the only sign that Shisui used to be there was a puddle of blood.

I stood up silently as Shisui's memories flowed through my mind and the one with him being ambushed and badly injured by Danzo made an intense fury flare up at the Warhawk who thought that this whole thing should be solved by bloodshed, then I was surprised by the memory of Itachi showing up in the aftermath and Shisui forcing him to kill him but that's when I realized that every single Uchiha was about to be killed just to prevent a coup and nothing but horror filled me as wings formed from my back and I took off into the air, praying that I wasn't too late.

* * *

I flew as fast as I could to the Uchiha compound as the thought of people dead, even if they had nothing to do with the coup, motivated me to get there as quick as I could until I finally arrived in an alley that was inside the compound, but there was nothing but unsettling silence and the powerful stench of blood made me fear for the lives of the children living in here as I moved over to the exit and what I saw as I entered the street would always stay with me.

"Oh...god," I gagged out as I looked away from the scene of carnage and started heaving, bodies of Uchihas everywhere as they laid motionlessly on the ground while blood coated the windows and buildings with everything looking like a macabre painting.

_'Jesus, this happened quick and it looks like these poor bastards either tried to run or put up one hell of a fight,' _I thought in revulsion as I slowly moved through the compound and kept my senses sharp while I took out two kunai and held them in reverse grips in each hand.

_**"Seth, be on high alert because I can sense a familiar chakra that I haven't felt since eight years ago," **_the fox warned suddenly, and the amount of tension in his voice made me feel very anxious since whoever he was sensing was agitating him badly and that sent a chill down my spine while I kept moving.

Pretty soon, I arrived at the police station and saw Itachi's girlfriend on the ground and restrained in chains by a man with long black spiky hair and dark clothing, who decapitated Izumi instantly and I just froze up as the man turned to look at me and saw the orange spiraled mask that I recognized from Minato's description all those years ago.

"Well, what do we have here?" the man wondered in a deep voice while I was paralyzed at seeing the very same person who was responsible for causing so much death and destruction eight years ago.

_**"Don't look into his uncovered eye because he'll put you in a powerful genjutsu!"**_ the fox shouted urgently, the panic in his tone making me flinch and quickly lower my gaze to the man's feet so that I wouldn't be caught in a genjutsu.

"I can sense that you are one of the Ninetails' Jinchurikis so at least that cuts my search down in half, now I'll capture you and find the other half of the Ninetails once you're secured," the man stated calmly before I held up my two kunai in a combat stance.

_**"Do not even think about it, now run because he's too powerful!"**_ the fox exclaimed, and I knew that he was right since someone capable of controlling a tailed beast is far too dangerous to take on alone, so the only thing I can do is exercise a tactical retreat and release a powerful burst of chakra to alert every on-duty and off-duty ninja so that reinforcements can show up to assist.

Suddenly, the man released Izumi from his chains and charged at me with a speed that took me off guard before I was forced to backpedal to keep my distance while making sure to avoid eye-contact and prevent getting grabbed, then I weaved out of the way of the chains and slashed at him many times but the blades of my two kunai passed through him like he was a hologram and that's when I started panicking.

_'Fuck, he can make himself intangible!'_ I thought and flipped over a grab, just before I found myself wrapped up in chains and struggled to get free until I was slammed down into the ground and created a crater.

"I have you Ninetails and now that you are secure, I'll locate and capture the other half," the man said calmly while I was coughing from getting the breath knocked out of me, then hearing him say that made me enraged as a shockwave erupted from me before destroying the chains and sending the man flying into a wall.

I snarled as I rose up with steam rising off of me and my injuries healing but then my canine teeth and my nails grew sharp while my hair became wild before dark thick whisker marks appeared on my cheeks and my eyes turned blood red with slit pupils, then red bubbling chakra came out of my body and covered me as I got down on all fours with three tails and long fox ears forming from the chakra as I growled until tentacles of flesh burst out of my back and whipped around with my face extending and cracking into mandibles.

My mask broke and fell to the ground as my body grew into an insectoid creature that shouldn't even exist before I sucked in a deep breath and roared while the man was standing still either in abject horror or morbid fascination until I scurried at him at lightning speed, swinging my tentacles and claws at him to either impale or eviscerate him as he was forced to dodge the lethal attacks that would instantly kill him while also making sure to become intangible as well, then I swung a mutated hand and the red chakra covering it extended forward before enlarging to crush the man.

The man jumped out of the way as the chakra hand slammed down to make an imprint before I sensed that more than one person was arriving fast and Hiruzen, as well as many ninjas of different ranks from Chunin to Jonin and Anbu, had quickly arrived and paused with paralyzing horror on their faces when they saw me until the man I was fighting had scoffed at the overwhelming odds and started to disappear in a swirling vortex.

"This isn't over," the man declared until he was gone, then I calmed down with the red chakra receding before I changed back to my human form and sat down to rest.

"Shit...that took a lot out of me," I groaned slightly before the others were able to snap out of it and start securing the area as Hiruzen approached me.

"Are you okay, Wolf?" Hiruzen asked and I waved up at him in response as my energy started regenerating.

"I'm good, just wasn't expecting to fight someone who can make ranged and physical attacks pretty much useless so I need to go home and get some rest," I stated and Hiruzen nodded.

"Very well, I'll send a messenger tomorrow to come and get you once this whole thing is dealt with," Hiruzen told me before I got up and left, heading back home until I stripped down to my boxers and laid down before I was suddenly pulled into my mindscape and found myself staring up at the fox, who was gazing down at me with a deadly serious expression.

**"Boy, we need to talk," **the fox told me and I was wondering what he wanted to talk about as the fake snowstorm raged on.

* * *

A/N I know, ending it on a cliffhanger is irritating but this is as far as this chapter will go and Kurama wants to have a serious talk to Seth about after they both survived their first encounter with Obito, so things will get interesting in the next chapter.

Speaking of the next chapter, it's time for Seth to acquire Yin Kurama's full power and gain the full tailed beast transformation but the tailed beast transformation will be a complete giant replica of Yin Kurama while the giant chakra avatar will come later in the Shippuden arc, so I hope you're excited.

Well, let me know what you think and stay tuned.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Hey guys, time for Seth to earn the full tailed beast transformation but he has to go to Genbu Island for that and, just to be clear, I really suck at rhyming so it is going to be a pain to write Killer B's dialogue down and just let me know what phrases B could say since the help would be appreciated but one more thing, I know that for Seth to get the key has to involve Gerotora going inside Seth through his mouth so I have no idea if there's an alternate way since Gerotora might surely die so let me know if there's an alternate way you can offer and, without further ado, let's begin.

* * *

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked in confusion, then I was taken by surprise when the fox's long ears tilted back slightly and he started avoiding eye-contact.

**"Well...after what just happened tonight, I've been doing some thinking and...well...ugh, you're right," **the fox admitted hesitantly, something that I wasn't expecting would happen since he was normally too proud to admit that he was wrong about something.

"I-I'm sorry?" I questioned in complete bewilderment, then the fox started glaring at me witheringly.

**"Dammit, I said you're right because we can't afford to be at each other's throats, not after what happened and that's why I believe it's time for you to unlock the seal and gain access to all of my power,"** the fox told me and I blinked at that before holding a hand up.

"Wait, you once said that the day you became my ally is the day hell froze over so what changed your mind?" I inquired curiously, causing the fox to sigh as he grimaced.

**"Circumstances have changed and you have no idea what it was like being under the control of that masked bastard, how degrading and humiliating it was so...as much as the idea makes me ill, being sealed up in you and the boy is a better option than what that asshole has planned for me,"** the fox said and I couldn't help but agree with that since the masked man vowed that he would be back, so I was going to need the fox's chakra if I wanted an edge against that man once he returned as I smiled up at the tailed beast.

"You know, it takes a lot of wisdom and strength to admit when you're wrong, and willingly giving me the chakra I needed to stall that bastard was thoughtful, so I want to say thanks," I stated, then the fox's eyes widened before his ears flattened slightly and it almost looked like he was...flustered?

**"Ugh, don't get all damn mushy on me because the only reason I lent you some of my chakra is that I wanted to make things more difficult for that asshole, that's right!" **the fox exclaimed defensively before it took me a few seconds to realize what was going on with him.

"Oh my god, are you seriously blushing right about now? Holy shit, I was not expecting that," I said before I started chuckling amusingly, then the fox glared as he raised a hand and flipped me off.

**"Fuck you," **the fox grumbled, then I laughed at that before I calmed down and started being more serious.

"Seriously though, I'm going to need the key if I want to unlock the seal so I have to talk to Jiraiya about this since he would know where it is, then there's just the matter of finding an uninhabited place to train with your full chakra so I don't destroy a populated place by accident," I pointed out, the fox nodding at my suggestion.

**"Agreed, which is why you should talk to the old monkey and he can contact that large angry cloud village leader because his village's two Jinchuriki had already found a method of using my siblings' full chakra without all the drawbacks," **the fox said, the siblings part taking me off guard.

"Wait, those other tailed beasts are your siblings? Interesting, and are they foxes like you?" I asked before the fox huffed.

**"Of course they're my siblings and as for the second question, no because they each have different appearances so that should satisfy your curiosity," **the fox said rudely and I made a face at that.

"Well, you don't need to be a dick about it but let's just hope the Raikage is in a pleasant mood and will help since he was kinda humiliated by the Hokage the last time I encountered him five years ago," I muttered and the fox chuckled.

**"Yes, it was rather amusing seeing him in such a state and it was your plan in the first place," **the fox pointed out with a dark grin, then I sent him a deadpan look.

"You know, you are one sadistic bastard," I said dryly and the fox smirked.

**"I know, and the most powerful too," **the fox boasted as he sat up fully and puffed out his chest proudly, causing me to sweatdrop before I shook my head.

"Well, I have to go so I'll see you later once I have the key," I stated before I left my mindscape and stared up at the ceiling of my room.

_'Shit, I can only pray that the Raikage will help since I need to gain an edge over that masked bastard and the Ninetails' full chakra will help considerably,'_ I thought before I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

"I see...so you want to unlock the seal to tap into the Ninetails' full chakra and become a perfect Jinchuriki?" Jiraiya asked with a thoughtful frown after I had explained everything the next day, the two of us in the Hokage's office with Hiruzen looking troubled by the news.

"Yeah, that masked bastard came back after eight years had passed and he would've gotten me if reinforcements hadn't shown up, not to mention that Naruto is in danger of being taken by that man and I know what happens when a tailed beast is removed from a Jinchuriki.

I cannot let that happen so that's why I want to unlock the seal and become a perfect Jinchuriki so that I can have an edge against that bastard when he attempts to capture me again," I said seriously, then Jiraiya nodded.

"I see what you mean so I'll notify the toads and have them reverse-summon you to Mt. Myoboku while sensei here contacts the Raikage and asks for permission to have one of his Jinchuriki train you," Jiraiya told me and asked Hiruzen, "Is that okay, sensei?"

"With what I just heard, I'm completely okay with it since this is the second time that man had appeared and was involved in a tragedy so my Anbu and Hunter-nin are after him and Itachi Uchiha, but chances are that they are long gone now," Hiruzen said solemnly, then I stayed silent since hearing that Itachi was also responsible for killing nearly every Uchiha with the assistance of the masked man is heartbreaking, though he probably didn't have a choice since Danzo killed the one person that could've prevented any bloodshed.

"Yeah, and fucking Danzo just had to screw everything up by killing Shisui since last night could've been avoided," I muttered as the guilt started eating at me from failing to prevent the massacre from happening.

"Hey, it's not your fault because we didn't expect Danzo to take matters into his own hands and, as much as I hate to admit it, there's no way to implicate him for killing Shisui Uchiha since there were no witnesses and any evidence has most likely been destroyed by him to cover up his involvement," Jiraiya stated before I started clenching my fists tightly as I started getting pissed.

"So, that piece of shit gets away with it and now we are facing an unnecessary loss of life, though I heard that Sasuke Uchiha is the only survivor so how's he doing?" I asked before the others started looking grim.

"Not good, he had been checked out and is in the hospital recovering but the doctor watching over him told me that he mostly just stares at the wall with this empty look on his face," Hiruzen explained before I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Christ...I lost my father in an accident eight years ago just before I showed up in the village during the Ninetails attack so I understand a little bit of what he is going through, but he had witnessed everyone he knew in the compound being butchered by his brother and the masked man so I am seriously worried for him since he most likely will develop severe psychological issues as he gets older because no one comes out of that okay and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a bad case of PTSD because of this," I pointed out in concern.

"Unfortunately, because Sasuke has no family left in the village to claim him, he would need to be placed in the orphanage and I'm sure that he will be well taken care of there," Hiruzen said solemnly and I had an idea.

"Wait, I'll take Sasuke in since he needs someone right now and I'm willing to do it because he knows me so he'll trust me more," I offered, taking Jiraiya and Hiruzen by surprise until they looked at me with grateful smiles.

"Of course, I'll get the adoption papers settled so thank you for doing this for us," Hiruzen said until Jiraiya cleared his throat to get our attention.

"Alright, I'll be heading to Mt. Myoboku to inform the toads while you let Naruto know that you'll be gone for a little while," Jiraiya told me before he reverse-summoned himself to Mt. Myoboku and I looked at Hiruzen.

"Well, I'll be heading home to pack up for the trip so I'll see you later," I said before I body-flickered home to pack up and tell Naruto that I would be gone for a while.

After that, I packed up for the trip and told Naruto that I would be gone for a while and that he would have a new brother soon, something Naruto was excited about and he asked me when I would be coming back and I told him that I would be gone for a couple of weeks before I had Kakashi watch over Naruto and said my goodbyes until I was suddenly reverse-summoned to Mt. Myoboku and saw Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima waiting for me.

"Ah, you have arrived and it's good to see you again, Seth," Fukasaku greeted and I nodded in response.

"Good to see you and Lady Shima again, though I wish it were under better circumstances," I said solemnly before the two toads started looking serious.

"Yes, Jiraiya-boy was able to inform us of what happened and Lord Gamamaru wishes to speak with you before we hand you the key to the seal holding the yin chakra of the Ninetails within you," Shima told me, making me wonder what Gamamaru wanted to tell me as we walked to where the great sage was until we arrived just before the elderly toad gazed at us.

"Ah...you brought the young man...good, good...come closer, Seth Mercer...an important task awaits you," Gamamaru said with his voice slow and raspy.

"Good to see he didn't have one of his episodes of senility," Shima grumbled, making Fukasaku roll his eyes as I took a few steps forward and bowed.

"Honorable and wise sage, I have arrived," I greeted respectfully before standing up.

"I had a vision...you will go to an island...a green paradise...then you will meet an octopus...who will help you tame your...inner beast. You will...face your past...and find peace within yourself but beware...the one red-eyed demon...will never stop unless he...gets what he wants and...great darkness will wash over the world," Gamamaru told me while I was confused by what he meant by a great darkness, though it didn't sound good.

"Excuse me, do we beat back this darkness?" I asked with a puzzled look.

"I...do not know...what lies beyond...the darkness...I cannot see and...while some events...are in place...the future is...always in motion...always changing...I'm afraid I...can't be...of much more help," Gamamaru admitted and I shook my head with a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, I'm glad you told me what you could so thank you, Lord Gamamaru," I assured and stepped back to let him rest as I turned my attention to the others.

"Well, now that that is over with, it's time to give you the key," Fukasaku stated and I nodded.

"Okay, so where is the key?" I asked.

"Right here," a voice announced behind me, causing me to turn around to see a small black and orange toad landing beside me and I recognized him as the toad I had seen briefly eight years ago before both halves of the fox were sealed into me and Naruto, though I couldn't help but notice that the toad's stomach looked quite strange as if he was wearing an obi around it but I could tell that those were skin flaps, not cloth.

"Hello there, my name is Gerotora and the Fourth Hokage entrusted the key to me when he sealed both halves of the Ninetails into you and his son, so I've been keeping it here until the time came for me to hand it to you and Naruto, and that time is now," Gerotora explained and I hummed thoughtfully.

"Okay, but I don't see the key on you so where is it?" I questioned in confusion.

"Again, right here," Gerotora repeated, only with less enthusiasm as I was taken by surprise when his torso started to extend comically until it reached its full length, then I saw that the toad's abdomen was a very large scroll as he unfurled it to reveal a large and complex sealing pattern.

"This is the key and, once you have it, you'll have control of the seal on you and Minato's boy," Gerotora explained before furling the scroll back up.

"Alright, so how am I supposed to get it?" I wondered in confusion.

Suddenly, Gerotora leaped up and shoved himself into my mouth before I heard the fox starting to laugh hysterically in my mind, but I was panicking as the toad went down my throat and disappeared into my stomach before I gagged in an attempt to get him out as horror for his well-being flooded my system.

"Oh my god, we have to get him out of me before he dies!" I shouted in an utter panic until Jiraiya hurried over to grab my shoulders.

"Calm down, we took some precautions before you showed up and Gerotora will be just fine, so he won't be assimilated," Jiraiya assured as I was hyperventilating, then I managed to calm down and nodded shakingly as Fukasaku cleared his throat to get our attention.

"Well, now that you have the key, we'll send you back to the leaf village," Fukasaku said as he and Shima each made a hand seal.

"We'll return where Seth was just before he was summoned here," Shima added and with that, we left Mt. Myoboku and headed back to the leaf village.

* * *

Once I returned to the village, I waited with the others until Hiruzen had received a reply that the Raikage had agreed to have one of his Jinchuriki train me on an island that his Jinchuriki used to become perfect Jinchuriki and, a week after that, I had left the village with a few Anbu as my escorts and a certain Anbu by the codename of Yamato but imagine my surprise when I discovered that he had the First Hokage's wood-style bloodline limit, but he wasn't up for small talk and told me that he was going to stay with me to ensure that nothing went wrong if the fox decided to try anything to put everyone's lives in danger.

Now, I was on a ship with my escorts and it had been three days since we were at sea before one of the workers announced that we had arrived at the place known as Genbu Island and the ship docked, then we left the ship and met up with a bunch of cloud ninja that were waiting for us.

"Welcome, leaf shinobi, to Genbu Island! My name is Motoi and I'm in charge of the ninja who protects and takes care of this place," Motoi greeted and I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good to meet you, my name is Seth Mercer and I assume that you were notified about my arrival?" I inquired.

"Yeah, we received a message from Lord Raikage and it's fortunate for you that Killer B arrived the day before you did, meaning that you can start your training immediately," Motoi told me and I perked up.

"I know Killer B, we met briefly five years ago during the Hyuga Affair and he's...certainly different than I had expected," I said hesitantly to try and not be rude while Motoi chuckled.

"Yeah, B's rapping is something to get used to but he's an okay guy as long as you don't piss him off," Motoi stated and warned, "Also, the island is home to many large and potentially dangerous animals but if you stay on the established paths and leave them alone, then they won't bother you."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful so lead the way," I said as I gazed around for any threats that might ambush us.

"Very well, Killer B is now resting at his house on the island so we'll take you to him," Motoi said until we started walking.

We trekked through the lush jungle that covered most of the island and fortunately, there were clearly man-made pathways that could be used for easy traversing and on top of the large trees and mushrooms that reminded me of Mt. Myoboku, there were many giant animals we encountered along the way to B's house until we eventually found ourselves in front of a very strange-looking house that was made of what appeared to be dark red dried mud and was split into three sections, the middle one being half as tall as the two towers on the sides while the top of the front door had the head of an ox with one of its horns severed before Motoi stepped forward and knocked on the door a few times.

"Killer B, the other Jinchuriki is here so come out!" Motoi called out as we stood in front of the house, though we didn't have to wait long before the door opened and B himself stepped out but, the moment he did, I strangely felt something inside me shift and assumed that it has to do with me being a Jinchuriki as B spotted me and perked up.

"Yo nine-o, been a long time for-sho!" B greeted and I nodded with a warm smile.

"It's good to see you again, B," I acknowledged and B grinned before he raised a fist.

"That was a nice response but, to properly greet, extend your fist and let our thoughts meet," B said and I was confused at first at fist-bumping him, but I did it anyway and felt a wave of foreign emotions suddenly wash upon me as if our chakra connected so I deduced that it had to be some kind of link between the tailed beasts as we lowered our fists and B studied me for a few seconds.

"Just like I guessed, your heart rings true and does not jest," B told me and I was wondering if he was going to stop rapping anytime soon since it was starting to drive me nuts.

"So, that means you'll train me?" I asked and B nodded.

"Correct, now enough chitchat and time to train, let's head to the waterfalls before it rains," B instructed and I could hear the fox in my mind chuckling at my misfortune as the other ninjas and I followed B and Motoi, then we eventually arrived at an impressive waterfall that poured into a lake.

"Here we are, the waterfall of truth and in this place, you will take the first step of your training," Motoi announced as I took in the area around me before I looked at him and B.

"So, what do I need to do?" I inquired curiously.

"To tame the beast inside, you must purify your heart and if you fail to do so, he will rip you apart so sit in front of the falls and close your eyes. You will find yourself in a strange place, your inner darkness will be waiting for you to face but power won't suffice, you will need to be wise. Understood, ya fool?" B instructed and I understood what Gamamaru meant by me facing my past.

"So, I need to sit down and meditate before the waterfall will take me to another place, where my darkness will be waiting and I have to face it head-on before I come back, correct?" I questioned before B gave me a thumbs up.

"You got it pal and you're pretty quick, now let's begin and try to be slick!" B declared and I nodded before I wordlessly walked over to the small isle in the middle of the lake, sat down, adopted the lotus position, and closed my eyes.

Pretty soon, the sound of the waterfall went away and was replaced by the loud noise of a blizzard before I opened my eyes and saw that I was in the radio room of the destroyed arctic research facility and noticed that I was wearing my former modern winter clothes that had been shredded by the monster that made me into what I am today, then I stood up and headed over to the door before I opened it and stepped out into the dark hallway that had half of the main building missing from explosives damage.

Somehow, something told me to head outside and I did as the storm raged on until I came to a stop near the ruined facility, then I caught a glimpse of something approaching before me and the shape got clearer before a familiar Malamute came into view and stopped in front of me, just before it started shuddering as the sounds of bones snapping and organs squishing rang out as it stood up and took on more anthropomorphic traits until a humanoid dog stared at me coldly while my eyes hardened since I knew what I was looking at as horrific flashbacks of what this thing did to me rang very clearly in my mind.

"You," I said darkly as the creature gazed at me like I was lower than an insect.

"You're the anomaly that took over after that vortex sucked me in, so I believe it's time I got rid of you and take back my existence," the creature said stoically, making me grit my teeth as I tried to remain calm and ignore every instinct telling me to run from this monster as far as I can.

"That'll be harder than you think because I'm not that same terrified kid you...raped and assimilated since I'm a shinobi now with eight years of experience under my belt," I growled as the creature stared at me with not one ounce of empathy in its eyes.

"It doesn't matter because you are insignificant, nothing more than an organism that gave me a skin to wear so I could escape that frozen wasteland," the creature told me blankly and I took a deep breath to calm down so that I wouldn't attack my rapist recklessly.

"You know, I've struggled for years to come to terms with what you did to me, how you violated and defiled me in the worst way but I'm not running anymore and I'm not going to fight you because brute force isn't the answer, so the only thing I can do is accept what happened eight years ago and take my life back," I declared just as the environment started changing and the creature began flickering like a hologram as it tensed up before it relaxed in resignation.

"You might think that you'll get rid of me, but I'll never be a memory because I'll always be the reminder of taking your humanity away," the creature stated before it disappeared and the environment altered into a field with mountains as my winter clothes changed into my shinobi ones, then I recognized it as a place in Maryland where my parents took me on vacation once and I saw my dad standing nearby before I teared up slightly while he smiled at me.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," I said solemnly, then dad nodded to show that he didn't blame me before he vanished and all the pain, the torment, and sorrow melted away before I felt lighter like a massive weight had been taken off of my shoulders until there was a white flash of light and I found myself opening my eyes to see that I was back at the waterfall of truth with B and the other ninja watching me.

After that, I stood up and let out a deep breath while I felt peaceful now that I had finally let go of the past and moved on from my trauma as I looked at B and saw him with a smile of satisfaction on his face as his arms were crossed

"Congratulations, I knew there was spunk in you so to fight the beast you're now ready, for your mind and soul are steady but, I feel the need to ask, are you ready for the coming task?" B questioned and I nodded.

"I'm ready, but there's no need for me and the fox to fight since we came to an agreement before we showed up here, though I do need to unlock the seal to gain access to the Ninetails' full chakra and that's why I'm here," I stated, catching B and the other ninja by surprise judging by the looks on their faces but B started grinning as I walked over to him.

"Well alright, and in that case...follow me," B said as we headed to the entrance of the place where I would unlock the fox's full chakra and start training with it to get used to it, though I only let Yamato come with me and had the rest of my escort team keep watch at the entrance just in case as we headed to the entrance.

Turns out that the entrance was behind the waterfall and when we went through to the other side, my eyes widened and Yamato gasped as we gazed upon a massive chamber with its roof being dozens of meters high, a large temple with five tall towers at the end of the gigantic chamber and a painting of a two-tailed cat made of blue flames and a hybrid of an octopus with the humanoid upper body of an ox as they fired purple-colored balls at each other. Finally, there were two rows of beheaded statues that formed a hallway towards the temple's entrance.

"Here we are, the tailed beast temple, a very special place, and it will be here where your tailed beast you will face," B said while I was taking in everything around me in astonishment.

"My god...this place must be a thousand years old so what's so special about this place?" I asked as I regained my focus on B.

"The temple is special, a security measure so if the Jinchuriki falls and the beast attempts to escape, it will be held inside these walls," B explained as I thought about how clever that was and that it would prevent loss of life.

"Of course...with a place like this, a Jinchuriki can train without endangering the lives of others and letting the tailed beast out so that's smart," Yamato agreed as we reached the entrance of the temple, a very large gate with the sculpture of the Two-tails' head that had its jaw open.

"We're here," B told us before he stuck his arm into the mouth and seemed to have activated a hidden switch since the gate slowly slid open and I was rendered breathless when I saw the inside of the room.

"Holy shit..." I trailed off as I peered into the room, seeing that it didn't look like a room at all and nothing more than a vast endless space that spread out in every direction with no floors or walls, just a sky of multiple colors.

"Come on, no time to waste so get in the chamber, make haste," B urged as he entered the room, where there was apparently a solid floor even if it couldn't be seen as Yamato and I followed B inside until he made a hand seal and the gate closed with a loud boom, leaving us trapped inside the room.

"Now there's no danger to the outside world if the Ninetails violates the agreement between you two and breaks free so, we would die, but it's the better option, don't you agree?" B pointed out and I nodded as I sat down and looked at him and Yamato.

"You guys are going to need to get a good distance from me because once I gain the Ninetails' full chakra, then there's a good chance that you might be blown away so it's better to be safe than sorry," I warned and the others backed away as I closed my eyes and traveled into my mindscape.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I saw that my mindscape had changed into the lush field and mountainous region of Maryland as the gate holding the fox at bay was surrounded by lovely trees while I also noticed a lake nearby that was perfect for the fox as I approached the gate and looked up at the tailed beast, who gazed back down at me in anticipation.

**"Well, you finally have the key so what are you going to do? You going to keep me locked up in here any longer or are you going to give me a bit more room to move around in?"** the fox questioned eagerly as I held out my hand and the seal matrix of the key appeared while I was impressed at the makings of the seal and the key itself, proving how much of a genius Minato was when he developed it.

"You already know what I'm going to do and, regardless of what everyone thought, you've never been a monster in my eyes since we both know what it's like to be treated like one and have been through so much together so if you're ready to move forward, I'm ready to pop that damn seal off, Ninetails," I stated with my eyes narrowed in determination, the fox looking surprised before he started smirking and chuckled.

**"Heh...you are one of a kind, Seth Mercer, you always have been since you've shown countless times that no matter whatever hell you face, you persevere and come out stronger than ever but I know that the challenges you have yet to face are going to be more difficult than anything you've ever faced, so I'm ready and let's show that masked bastard just who exactly he's fucking with once he tries to come after us again.**

**Also, my name is Kurama so understand that I don't give out my true name to anyone unless they've gained my trust and respect, now don't make me regret it," **Kurama told me as he lifted his pawed hand and balled it into a fist before sticking it through the bars.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Kurama," I declared with a grin as I bumped fists with him to solidify the bond that had developed between us and, following that, Kurama opened up his hand and lowered it so that I could step onto it like a platform before I was lifted up to where the seal was.

With the key activated, I reached out to rip off the tag that had been holding Kurama's gate closed before I was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled off of the giant hand before I landed onto the ground.

**"It can't be..." **Kurama trailed off in shock as I opened my eyes to see who yanked me off of the giant fox's hand, only I was stunned when I saw a man with familiar spiky blond hair who held a resemblance to Naruto and I recognized him.

"Minato," I gasped while I was trying to comprehend how this was possible.

**"Fourth Hokage," **Kurama muttered but I wasn't paying attention as I gazed at someone who was supposed to be dead.

"I was wondering why I appeared here," Minato said as I was gaping at him.

"Wha-how is this possible?" I sputtered out in disbelief.

"It was one last failsafe worked into the seal where I sealed some of my own chakra into it so I'd appear in the seal if it was ever about to be broken or released, and what would happen when I showed up would depend on the circumstances," Minato explained while I was gawking at him.

"I-I never thought I would see you again," I admitted in bewilderment before Minato started looking guilty.

"Seth, I'm truly sorry for what you went through these past eight years and that you experienced something so horrible before you arrived in the village," Minato told me solemnly, but I shook my head with a soft smile.

"You don't need to apologize because I'm not angry at the villagers anymore, just sorry that they weren't able to move on from their grief and see me and Naruto as just people than the monsters they think we are and as for what I went through that night, I've come to terms with it so there's also no need to apologize since you weren't there.

Also, I'm fine with being a Jinchuriki because I wouldn't have gotten to know the people in this world and I wouldn't have met this big guy here," I said calmly as I gestured at Kurama with my thumb before I added, "Minato, he's not a bad guy because he had so much terrible shit happen to him in his life and, despite what he's done in the past, he's still a victim of humanity's cruelty."

"I know that now and there's someone I want you to see," Minato said before the environment changed into a white space with Kurama gone and I looked around.

"What the hell is this place?" I questioned as I took in the area around me until I saw a familiar woman with red hair.

"Hello, Seth," Kushina greeted and I froze as I gazed at her until I nodded with a smile.

"It's good to see you again, Kushina...there's so much I wanted to know about you guys so I have so many questions," I admitted as we all sat down.

"Well, seeing as how I don't need to use any chakra to rebuild the seal and Kushina doesn't need to use up hers to help you in the event of fighting against the Ninetails, we got more time to get to know you and where you came from," Minato told me while I started thinking about what I wanted to ask them when one came to me.

"Well, there's one thing I wanted to ask you both so how did you two get together?" I inquired and Kushina started looking flustered.

"Well, it's...kinda embarrassing, you know," Kushina admitted and I chuckled heartily at that.

"You know? Oh my god, you really are his mother because Naruto has that same verbal tick and I've been trying to get him to grow out of that, but it just won't go away so I eventually gave up on trying," I explained while Kushina blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, just tell him, honey, because it's not that embarrassing," Minato chimed in reassuringly before Kushina sighed.

"Well, I guess," Kushina mumbled before she started explaining.

After a while, I learned so much about Minato and Kushina's lives before they died until it was time for us to return to the seal and we came back to the large gate where Kurama was waiting, the large fox staring down at us until he saw Kushina.

"You know, I knew all along that you were a big softy inside," Kushina said with a grin and Kurama huffed slightly.

**"Kushina Uzumaki...I'd say I was surprised to see you again but after today, nothing can surprise me anymore," **Kurama commented just before I saw Minato and Kushina starting to fade.

"Hey, what's going on?" I wondered in confusion.

"Sorry Seth, but it looks like our time is up," Minato told me and, while I was disappointed to hear that, I understood that they used up all their chakra to spend time with me.

"That's a shame, but I'm okay with it and I just wanted to let you know that I've kept my promise to you both," I said before Minato and I shook hands.

"We know and we thank you for that so take care of yourself and let Naruto know that we always loved him even until the very end," Kushina stated and with those final words, she and Minato faded away once their chakra ran out.

**"Seth," **Kurama spoke up and I looked at him with a nod.

"I know," I replied as I leaped up onto Kurama's hand and was taken to the seal.

I reached over and ripped off the tag before I saw an intricate lock and hopped off of Kurama's hand, then I unzipped my flak jacket and pulled up my shirt to show the seal on my abdomen until I placed the key on the seal and turned it like a doorknob before the lock on the gate started to undo itself slowly at first and got faster until it ended with a single final click, which the gate opened and freed Kurama.

At that moment, the full force of Kurama's chakra washed through me like a tidal wave and it was unlike anything I had ever felt before with the three-tailed cloak I experienced briefly paling in comparison as the massive rush of power felt like it was going to tear me apart at first, but its wild fury was soon contained until it exploded all at once as I was flung out of my mindscape.

After that, I found myself in the room that was located in the tailed beast temple but something seemed different as I felt multiple appendages moving right behind me and examined myself, seeing my arms covered in brown fur with my nails grown out into deadly claws as I raised my hands and saw dark pads before I looked behind me and spotted nine beautiful tails moving around wildly until I felt my face to discover a muzzle and touched my ears to discover that they were long.

_'Interesting, this is different than the other forms I had taken over the years,' _I thought curiously.

**_"What do you mean by different?" _**Kurama asked as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the amount of chakra running throughout my new form.

_"I don't know how to describe it, but the power I'm feeling is unlike anything I've ever experienced before and it's like I'm capable of wiping out a major city alone," _I commented mentally while Kurama chuckled amusingly.

**_"That's the idea, though you need to focus on your tail control since you nearly flattened the other two humans who are in the room with you," _**Kurama pointed out and I mentally swore up a storm.

_"Shit, B and Yamato are going to kill me,"_ I groaned inwardly as I focused on controlling my new tails and they went from moving around uncontrollably to swaying gently as I noticed B and Yamato, only they were the size of ants and I did a double-take at that.

_'Holy crap, how fucking big am I?!'_ I thought in disbelief while I lowered myself to look less intimidating.

"Seth, are you still in there?" Yamato asked with a slightly nervous tone in his voice and I nodded my massive vulpine head.

**"Yes, I'm still here and in complete control of myself so you have nothing to worry about," **I reassured with my voice a combination of mine and Kurama's just before Yamato sighed in relief.

"That's good, but watch where you're throwing those tails around because you nearly hit us!" Yamato scolded and I flinched at that while looking sheepish.

**"Sorry, it won't happen again," **I said with a look of embarrassment while B looked up at me with a proud expression.

"Tailed beast's raw power is primal essence and with your chakra, it formed a coalescence!" B praised enthusiastically while I smiled at him until I could hear Kurama clear his throat in my mind.

_**"Seth, now that this is your first full tailed beast transformation, we can only maintain this form for only five minutes at best,"** _Kurama told me and I understood what he meant.

_"I see, so I have to keep practicing until my body gets used to it and I can stay in this form for much longer periods of time,"_ I replied as the full tailed beast form started to recede and I fell once I was back in my human form before I landed onto the ground, then I sat down while I felt utterly exhausted.

"Shit, that took a lot out of me," I muttered while I breathed heavily.

"So, now that his training is over, I guess that we can head back to the leaf village, right?" Yamato asked B, who shook his head.

"Sorry pal, but I'm afraid that won't be the case because if he heads back as he is, it will be a disgrace so the first thing he needs is to train a lot and master his new powers if he wants to have a shot," B stated and I looked up at Yamato.

"He's right, I need to keep training with this new power so that I can have an edge against dangerous enemies or other Jinchuriki so how long will this take?" I asked B, who shrugged.

"For you, who knows since it could take a lot of time, but you're a fast learner so it will be sublime," B said and I stood up before resting my hands on my knees.

"Well, I need to recover first before I can get any training done or I'm just going to burn myself out," I pointed out logically as I stood up fully.

_**"Speaking of which, you and I have a lot of work to do once you recover so get ready for the training I'm going to put you through," **_Kurama told me, and I didn't like the glee in his voice so I slumped my shoulders with a depressed cloud over my head at the thought of Kurama putting me through a boot camp of hell.

"Alright then, let's head outside to recover, then show me what you can do and fight with pride," B declared before we left the temple and headed outside so that I could recover and begin the next step of my training.

* * *

A/N Finished, so I hope you like this and, from what you saw when Seth went to face his inner darkness, the creature was the original alien's remaining consciousness but with Seth finally facing his rapist and standing up to it is what destroyed it completely so as for Seth's mindscape changing from the destroyed arctic research base to his childhood vacation spot in Maryland while seeing his father, it's his mind's way of moving on from the past and coming to terms with his trauma so Seth will no longer be tormented anymore by the past.

Now, I originally planned for Seth and Kurama to fight so that Seth can earn the tailed beast transformation, but I decided that there was no need for it since Seth already earned Kurama's trust and respect for enduring so much throughout his adult life and the agreement they made between each other helped as well, not to mention that Minato and Kushina being in Seth's seal is the same with Naruto's since they were supposed to be a last resort if Kurama tried to break out and Seth got to know Naruto's parents a little better so that's a nice touch I decided to add.

Well, let me know what you think and stay tuned.


	10. Chapter 10

After I had recovered during the rest of the day and slept until tomorrow, we traveled back to the mainland and headed to a less populated location in the land of fire since I didn't want to destroy Genbu island during my training while Jiraiya had been contacted and he showed up before I prepared myself for 'Kurama's Bootcamp from Hell' but I was surprised when it started with a simple talk.

_**"Okay Seth, ever since the seal was released, you may have noticed a slight difference of power once you gained access to all of my chakra so, to put it shortly, you can use my full power and you can also control the amount of power you can access easier.**_

_**Before the seal was released, the number of tails determined the amount of power you could access while you experienced that briefly with the version 1 three-tailed cloak and if you had reached four tails, you would've entered the version 2 cloak but that's not the case now since, from now on, your power is going to be influenced by what type of cloak you enter.**_

_**For example, you have version 1, version 2, and then full tailed beast mode so version 1 allows you to use my own power to augment your own and, while you still have access to your own attacks, you don't have the option to access my abilities but version 2 is where you set aside your own techniques and begin to tap into mine, though the version 2 cloak is still but a fraction of my own power and that's reserved for the full tailed beast mode," **_Kurama explained as I listened carefully and knew what he was talking about while the others were watching my progress nearby.

_"I know what you mean since I did notice a difference of power when I released the seal and it paled in comparison to the version 1 three-tailed cloak, though I haven't used the version 2 cloak so I'm not familiar with it and the full tailed beast mode was something completely different compared to the version 1 cloak," _I pointed out mentally while my face showed a thoughtful expression.

_**"The cloaks, both versions 1 and 2, are only a fraction of my power so we'll start with the version 1 cloak and go from there,"** _Kurama told me before I unleashed the version 1 cloak with eight tails and it felt like I was engulfed in a warm bath while my eyes had become blood-red with slit pupils and thick whisker marks appeared on my cheeks as my nails and teeth became sharp.

_**"Good, now try hitting that large rock over there with your fist," **_Kurama instructed before I turned to look at the large stone he pointed out, then I charged forward at lightning speed and leaped up into the air above the rock until I threw a fist and struck the rock during my decent, then I was shocked when the rock completely shattered from the force and a crater was made.

_"Holy shit, that's definitely going to shatter bones and kill somebody instantly," _I commented to Kurama in disbelief.

_**"That's because your body is currently using some of my chakra, which will make your elemental jutsu more powerful and you saw that it had enhanced your speed and physical strength as well," **_Kurama stated before we continued after that.

For the remainder of the day, Kurama had shifted from explanation to experience as he drilled into my head on how to make full use of the version 1 cloak while I had noticed that all of my jutsu had gained an increase in their overall potency, which was expected for both me and Kurama as I had learned more about the significant increase in my speed, agility, and physical strength to some extent.

Despite that, Kurama had proven to be a rather hard drill instructor as he taught me how to best use the version 1 cloak's enhancements to better my own fighting style before the next day came with Kurama beginning his tutelage on training me with the version 2 cloak, but not before revealing to me that we could switch each other's consciousness' before demonstrating by taking over and conversating to the others while I thought it was useful as the second day of my training began.

_**"Now, the biggest advantage with the version 2 cloak is the unpredictability associated with it and, along with accessing more of my power, you also gain the ability to extend the chakra outward from you, giving you a sort of chakra arm.**_

_**Until now, you've only accessed the version 1 cloak so now it's time to experience version 2 before I teach you a technique called the tailed beast ball, an attack that you once witnessed eight years ago when I fired it at the Hokage mountain while I was under the control of that masked bastard and there's so much more you could do with it other than fire a massive purple ball of chakra at your enemy, so let's begin and enter version 2 cloak,"** _Kurama explained until I took on the version 2 cloak as dark red chakra completely engulfed me and nine tails appeared behind me, then a vulpine skeleton began to form around me and I was astonished at how different the version 2 cloak felt compared to version 1.

_"Quick question, what the hell are these bones supposed to be used for? I've never seen anything like this before so what purpose are the bones for?" _I asked in confusion.

_**"The reason why is because you've never taken on the version 2 cloak and as for the bones, you can actually control whether or not they are there and the bones can be beneficial if you're fighting in close range, though bear in mind that they'll also be a hindrance when fighting at range so it's up to you if you want them or not.**_

_**Now, as I said, you can't use any of your techniques in this form but you can access some of mine so let's get started with one of my personal favorites, where you can now gather up chakra and create a shockwave that'll tear up the environment in front of you with a roar or a swing of your arms,"** _Kurama told me and I knew what he was talking about since I was nearly blown away by it once eight years ago.

_"Yeah, I saw it first-hand and it looked deadly so let's begin," _I replied before we got started.

Kurama gave me instructions on how to use the tailed beast shockwave and the tailed beast ball before I found out that I could actually whip up a large twister by swiping with my claws, though said twister was unfortunately in the direction of the others who were observing me.

"Dammit, will you two watch where you're aiming?! Ninetails, I thought you said that we wouldn't have to worry about being hit while you're training Seth!" Jiraiya shouted irritably after he and the others dodged the unintentional attack, then Kurama took over before my body moved on its own with my head turning to the others while he grinned amusingly.

**"I said that you all won't have to worry about being flattened by a tail, but I didn't say anything about a twister," **Kurama remarked before he burst out laughing, making the others sweatdrop since there was no doubt that B and the others were now Kurama's personal punching bags.

"Well, can you please aim it away?" Yamato pleaded tensely and Kurama pouted while I was unamused by how the large fox was enjoying the fact that I nearly hit the others by accident.

**"Damn, you're no fun...fine, seeing as what we're planning on doing next would actually kill you," **Kurama said with a chuckle before handing control back to me, then he began to explain to me the next ability I had access to in the version 2 cloak and, fortunately for the others, I made sure to control my aim this time as I shot out a highly concentrated beam of heated chakra that carved through the rock faces of the surrounding cliffs and mountains like a hot knife through butter.

_"Jesus Christ, you weren't bullshitting when you said that could kill somebody, most definitely would vaporize someone from the face of the planet,"_ I commented in disbelief until Kurama chuckled.

_**"Heh, what did you expect? I'm not the strongest of the tailed beasts for nothing," **_Kurama bragged smugly before he added, _**"You also have access to the tailed beast shockwave in this form but I already taught you how to use it, now what I really want you to work on are those chakra arms but for that, we need a training partner and I have the perfect one in mind."**_

Kurama took over and called Jiraiya over before the tailed beast indicated to him that I needed a training partner to get a better hang of using the chakra arms, then the toad sage sighed wearily as he reluctantly agreed before offering up a few shadow clones as a sacrifice.

Over the next few days, I had gotten the hang of using the chakra arms and the version 2 cloak thanks to a few unfortunate shadow clones and for me being a fast learner so, after a whole week of training in this location, Kurama decided that I would catch onto the version 1 and 2 forms quickly but it was the full tailed beast mode he wanted me to work on the most before my training was completed before he told me that it would take a couple more weeks to master it, so I had one of the Anbu escorts send a message to the Hokage explaining the delay and now was the day I got ready to train in the full tailed beast form.

_**"Okay Seth, this is only the second time you've used my full form and, as of now, you can still only hold it no more than ten minutes at a time, which means that we're going to have to make the most of our time when you enter tailed beast mode and that means the ten minute limit will increase as your body adjusts more to the increased amount of my chakra in your system, so let's get started,"** _Kurama instructed before I got ready.

_"Understood," _I responded as I tapped into Kurama's full power and my form changed into the giant fox's so, once the transformation was completed, I had been completely replaced by Kurama's appearance as I now stood as a massive nine-tailed kitsune instead of a red-haired male shapeshifter who was a veteran shinobi before I focused on my tails and made them controlled and flowing.

_**"Very good on controlling the tails, now you just need to keep doing that long enough so that they are out of the way and, as long as they're not interfering with you or anyone else, you can let them do what they want right now so for the most part, just guide them and take full control of them when you need them, now do that and use them as a sort of shield," **_Kurama instructed and I complied by arching the tails over myself as if I was using them to block a massive projectile attack.

_**"Not bad, now try using them as additional limbs by ripping a few trees out from the ground and using them as projectiles since it'll help with your dexterity," **_Kurama told me and, following his instructions, I wrapped one of the tails around a nearby tree before ripping it out from the earth and chucking it over me, sending it flying to the far end of the valley.

_**"Well, that was kinda lame," **_Kurama commented and I was taken aback by that.

_"Hold on, didn't you see the distance I got on that? Hardly lame in my opinion," _I argued before Kurama sighed in exasperation.

_**"Here, let me take control for a moment," **_Kurama said before I gave up control and Kurama rolled his neck around before stretching his body and tails out like a cat to no doubt loosen the joints.

**"Oh yeah, it sure feels good being able to stretch out my tails for the first time in so many years,"** Kurama groaned blissfully and, making controlling his body look easy, he grabbed a tree of his own with a tail before he flung it at the nearby cliff and the tree shattered while creating a large hole in the process.

_"Holy fuck!" _I exclaimed in shock after I watched everything.

**"Please, that nothing and again, I'm not known for being the strongest of the tailed beasts for nothing so I could've easily destroyed that cliff and you should see my brother Son do this since the tree and the entire cliff would've been reduced to nothing,"** Kurama commented proudly while B cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Yo, what are you two up to, nine-o?" B asked before Kurama looked at him.

**"Just helping Seth out with a little target practice,"** Kurama replied until he focused on firing a large chakra beam to carve a target into the side of a nearby cliff, just as he transferred control back to me and the tailed beast form suddenly receded into me.

_**"Hmm, looks like 11 minutes is our limit right now so take some time to rest and perhaps work on something else because once you're good to go again, start chucking trees at the target until I stop you at a certain amount,"** _Kurama instructed and I nodded before I had an idea.

_"You know, if you want to come out every now and then, I don't really mind as long as we're in a location that's uninhabited and people won't get the shit scared out of them, so just don't do anything crazy,"_ I offered and felt the surprise coming from Kurama.

_**"In other words, don't do anything you would do," **_Kurama remarked wryly, making me sweatdrop before he continued, _**"Anyway, I'd like that so I'll consider it for now until we can hold this form for much longer and I won't do anything stupid."**_

_"Of course, I'll be waiting for your answer until then," _I replied before I went to meet up with B and the others so that I could take a break.

* * *

For nearly the past two weeks, Kurama had me working hard to bring myself up to a point that was acceptable to his standards, and now the giant fox had told me that I would benefit more from actual combat experience while I had agreed before I had Jiraiya summon Gamabunta, the boss summon of Mt. Myoboku and I recognized him as the giant toad that damn near crushed me eight years ago when he fell from the sky and landed onto Kurama.

**"You sure about this, Jiraiya?" **Gamabunta questioned uncertainly while I was in my full tailed beast mode and standing across from him.

"Trust me on this Bunta, I've had my doubts at first but even I'm beginning to see that the Ninetails is truly on our side now since the seal's been removed for a few weeks and he hasn't tried to break free or purposely kill us yet," Jiraiya assured while he was situated on top of the large toad's head.

**"That still doesn't mean I feel comfortable sparring with the Ninetails itself!"** Gamabunta complained hotly and I sweatdropped at that.

"Oh lighten up, my dear boy, because even I'm interested to see where Seth and the Ninetails have gotten in terms of progression," Fukasaku stated, who had been summoned here to give Jiraiya a boost in strength while the boss toad groaned slightly.

**"Fine, but I'll be having you personally buy sake for a long time after this," **Gamabunta grumbled as I gazed at him and Jiraiya, studying them for any weaknesses and coming up with a few strategies before I got ready.

I started off by dashing over to Jiraiya and Gamabunta as I closed the gap between me and the giant toad with ease before Gamabunta barely had time to jump and avoid the claw swipe until, with a quick pivoting motion, I whipped my tails around in an intention to strike the boss toad like a whip.

By the time my tails came around, Gamabunta just regained his footing and it allowed him to catch the tails, only the power behind the attack was too much to dampen and the boss toad was sent flying back before he collided onto the area before me and got back up with a scowl.

**"Oi, watch the tails you brat!" **Gamabunta shouted irritably before he fired several water spheres at me, making me react by either dodging swiftly or using a few low-powered tailed beast balls to intercept the rest as explosions erupted.

Growling, Gamabunta drew his tanto and lunged at me before I acted accordingly by gracefully sidestepping the lunge and before the boss toad could follow up with a slash, I used one of my tails to wrap around his hands and disarm him before Gamabunta was forced to jump back so he could avoid me wrapping him up to restrain him with the other eight.

**"You know, this was a lot easier with Minato," **Gamabunta commented in exasperation while I could see Jiraiya rolling his eyes.

"As I recall, all you had to do was drop down on top of the furball and restrain him, so shall we?" Jiraiya suggested before he and the boss toad made hand signs, then I hardened my eyes and got ready for whatever they were planning next.

"Fire style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!" Jiraiya declared as he and Gamabunta shot out oil and fire to combine it into a massive ball of flames that started heading towards me, then I countered by shooting white-hot flames out of my maw and the two attacks collided in the middle, adding to the massive inferno that lit up the ground between us.

_'Fuck me, good thing no one lives here or that would've really ruin their day,' _I thought just before Jiraiya suddenly came falling from the sky with a gigantic Rasengan.

"Sage art: Massive Rasengan!" Jiraiya cried out loudly as he dove down to hit me with the giant ball of chakra.

Thinking fast, I arched a few of my tails up into a shield before the supercharged Rasengan collided with them and because they were tougher than titanium, the giant ball of chakra couldn't break through the defense just before I noticed Gamabunta doing something out of the corner of my eye.

**"Water style: Rampaging Torrent!"** Gamabunta growled before he fired a massive stream of water at me, the attack too wide for me to dodge so I quickly turned my head and unleashed a tailed beast shockwave with a roar before both attacks hit each other and by the time the powerful water attack reached me, it had been dissipated into nothing more than a misty spray as I swung my tails that were blocking the Rasengan and sent Jiraiya flying until Gamabunta saved him by letting the older man land onto his head.

"Well, I think that's going to be it for now," Fukasaku said and once he called the spar to an end, Kurama's form retreated until I was standing on a cliff before I met up with the others, then Kurama took over with my eyes turning red with slit pupils, thick whisker marks appearing on my cheeks, and my teeth and nails growing sharp.

"So, do you think he's finished?" Jiraiya asked Kurama, who took up a thoughtful expression for a few moments until he nodded.

**"I'll admit that he's come a long way since we started and, had he been fighting offensively instead of defensively, then you three wouldn't have stood a chance against him and even though he's still not as good as I am, he's a lot better than before and adapted quickly because of his inhuman physiology so I'm done with him for now," **Kurama explained before he handed control back to me.

After that, we said our goodbyes to B and headed back to the leaf village once the toads reverse-summoned themselves back to Mt. Myoboku before we arrived back home and reported to the Hokage about my training being complete for now, then I was taken to see Sasuke and brought him home while he stayed silent the entire time until Naruto saw him and was looking more than puzzled as to why his rival was going to be his new brother, just as I took the blond into the kitchen for some privacy and explained the best I could while withholding the more gory parts until I ended it by saying that Sasuke needed all the support we could give him.

Naruto seemed to understand that something very bad happened because of the villagers looking more solemn while I was gone and he agreed to help Sasuke, though I was very concerned for the young Uchiha since I once picked up him mumbling quietly with a dark look that he would make Itachi pay and I knew that he needed therapy while I had to steer him away from revenge since something like that never ends well for anyone.

Before I knew it, four years had gone by while Sasuke's recovery was a long one with the academy's curriculum being changed by the Hokage on the suggestion of me and Jiraiya where many of the academy's standards had risen significantly while many students weren't able to keep up with it for long and transferred to civilian schools until only twelve students in Naruto's class remained as I also spent time in practicing with Kurama's chakra while he coached me from time to time, then the time came for the exam now before Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of the students that remained in the academy had passed until they came to see me in the front of the academy while I smiled.

"Dad, we did it!" Naruto cheered as he hugged me and I chuckled.

"I know, so I'm proud of you two," I said as I looked at Sasuke, who nodded at me with his hands in his pockets and I was glad that I was able to steer him away from revenge and get him to want justice for the Uchiha massacre by bringing Itachi and the masked man back to the village to face trial for their crimes.

"Well, let's celebrate tonight until you get your photos taken for your new IDs and are assigned to your new unit tomorrow," I said after I stood up and bushed off any dirt that was still on my pant legs, ignoring the glares that were sent at me and Naruto while Sasuke hummed thoughtfully.

"Are you going to be a Jonin sensei?" Sasuke inquired until I smiled playfully.

"That's a surprise and I don't want to spoil it now, but I can guarantee that you both will love it," I remarked with a foxy grin before I took Naruto and Sasuke home, then I narrowed my eyes when I saw Mizuki waiting for us.

"Mizuki, what are you doing here?" I asked, not trusting the man at all but not letting on that I didn't trust him as the silver-haired Chunin smiled at me.

"I was hoping to see if I could speak to Naruto in private, so is that all right?" Mizuki inquired and my suspicions of him greatly increased while I wondered what he was up to as Naruto and Sasuke also didn't trust him either from what they told me once.

"Well, as long as it's okay with Naruto," I said as I looked at the blond, then he nodded and Mizuki took Naruto up to the rooftops while I made eye-contact with Sasuke.

"Sasuke, go inside the house and wait for us because I have a feeling that this will take a while," I told Sasuke, who went inside before I followed Mizuki and Naruto at a distance so that the chunin wouldn't see me until they stopped on a rooftop and I altered my hearing to listen in better.

"So, what did you need to talk about?" Naruto asked.

"Well, there is a little extra test for you this year," Mizuki began and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

_'What the hell are you up to, Mizuki?' _I thought and continued listening.

"Oh? But I'm already a genin so why would I need more tests?" Naruto questioned in confusion, but I could tell from that slight tone in his voice that he was suspicious as well.

"Well, this is a special advancement test only given to the rookie of the year and Sasuke may have been given the title officially, the teachers at the academy agreed that you'd be more deserving of it.

Anyway, we are offering the advancement test to the best genin and, if you pass, you'll be named elite genin and added to a team of your own choosing as a secondary leader with the authority to command the other genin," Mizuki explained and I couldn't help but stifle a scoff at how ridiculous that sounded since there was no such thing as an elite genin, maybe an elite chunin or jonin but not an elite genin.

"Wow sensei, I could be an elite genin? What's the test?" Naruto asked, and I could see that he was faking his excitement since I had taught him time and time again to watch out for people who would try to manipulate him for their own ambitions, though Mizuki didn't seem to notice that Naruto wasn't fooled by him most likely because of his arrogance taking over and thinking that he had Naruto in his grasp.

"All you have to do is sneak into the Hokage library and retrieve the scroll of sealing located within but, while you need to avoid the Anbu patrols, they've been told to go easy on you so once you have the scroll, you'll need to take it to the southwest checkpoint house in the forest outside the village and do you know where that is?" Mizuki instructed as Naruto nodded.

"Dad told me about it once, so I'll find it," Naruto said and Mizuki grinned.

"Good, just get it there before midnight tonight and you pass," Mizuki added while I was scowling and openly glaring at the disgusting excuse of a shinobi for trying to manipulate my son into committing a serious crime.

"Okay sensei, I accept so I'll get the scroll and bring it to the checkpoint before you know it, ya know!" Naruto declared, throwing his verbal tick in for good measure to convince Mizuki, then the traitorous chunin left after that.

_**"Seth, the old monkey should be notified about this so go get Naruto and head to the Hokage's office," **_Kurama told me and I sent him a mental agreement before I quickly headed over to where Naruto was until he spotted me as I landed onto the roof he was on.

"Dad, were you here the entire time?" Naruto asked and I gestured at the place I was hiding.

"I was nearby, but that doesn't matter because I heard everything and we need to tell the Hokage about this," I stated with a serious look, then Naruto nodded and we quickly headed over to the Hokage's office before entering the building and approaching the secretary.

"Excuse me, we need to see the Hokage so let him know it's urgent," I said stoically, causing the woman to look surprised before she sent the message and moments later, Naruto and I were standing before the Hokage while the elderly man nodded at us.

"Naruto, I see you passed the exam, so excellent work but what's so urgent that you and your father wanted to talk to me about?" Hiruzen inquired and I gently nudged Naruto forward to let him speak.

"Well, we headed home and discovered some moles digging the foundation," Naruto said, then Hiruzen's face tightened immediately since moles were spies and digging at the foundation meant that they were also established ninja of the village, so the elderly Hokage made a hand sign before five Anbu operatives suddenly appeared and activated privacy seals around the room until they vanished.

"Okay, you two, tell me everything you know," Hiruzen ordered seriously before we started telling him about what we learned.

Naruto started off by describing everything about Mizuki's actions in the past that even I didn't know about, making me feel awful for the blond as I joined in with explaining what Mizuki said to Naruto about the so-called advancement test and Hiruzen scoffed at how stupid that was until we were finished and I looked down at Naruto with a concerned look.

"Naruto, if Mizuki was causing you that much trouble, then why haven't you reported him to the Hokage or told me about it?" I questioned and Naruto looked up at me.

"Well, if I came running to the Hokage every time some random idiot was mean to me, then I would never leave his office and I didn't tell you because I wanted to learn how to solve my own problems but this time, he is endangering not just me, but the whole village so I had to do something about it by telling the Hokage," Naruto admitted, causing me to look solemn since the poor kid really did carry so much on his shoulders.

"Very well, I can respect that but what do we do about Mizuki? He cannot be allowed to get away with this so, Naruto, you were the main victim of his actions so how would you like to play an instrumental role in Mizuki's capture? I'll pay the wage of an A-rank mission and put down your very first A-rank at the beginning of your career," Hiruzen offered before I ruffled Naruto's hair with a proud grin.

"You hear that? Your very first A-rank just after you graduated," I stated and Naruto beamed at that.

"Wow, that sounds awesome but I'm thinking of getting more than just money," Naruto said, catching the interest of me and Hiruzen.

"Okay, and what else do you wish to get than just money?" Hiruzen asked curiously.

"Well, I'm going to need a jutsu from the scroll to help speed up my training a little bit and gain more information faster while I also want to pick a teammate of my own choosing," Naruto told us and I started stroking my chin thoughtfully until an idea came to me.

"I know, there's one jutsu in the scroll that will suit you and it's called the shadow clone jutsu, which will help you gain information faster since these kinds of clones are all physical and you receive the knowledge they gather much faster once they dispel but, even better, you can create thousands of them because of the enormous amount of chakra you have," I explained before Naruto grinned at that.

"That sounds really useful, so I'll take that jutsu and, for my teammate, I'm going to pick Sasuke," Naruto stated while I was surprised to hear that and Hiruzen hummed thoughtfully.

"I see...why Sasuke and not Hinata?" Hiruzen questioned while Naruto placed his hands on the back of his head and shrugged.

"Well, I'm top shinobi and Hinata is top kunoichi while those two get put together anyway, so I was just making sure that Sasuke would be paired up with us," Naruto explained, and I couldn't help but see the logic in that.

"So, it's settled, now let's talk about coming up with a plan to deal with Mizuki," I said until we started coming up with a plan to stop Mizuki.

* * *

The plan was simple, Naruto would spend the afternoon learning the shadow clone jutsu before he'd take a fake copy of the scroll of sealing to the rendezvous point, then my Anbu unit and I would trail behind him from a distance before hiding and once Mizuki makes himself known and reveals his intentions, we would swoop in and arrest him but Hiruzen warned Naruto that he'd be notifying the other ninja about the scroll being stolen so that they would create a believable amount of outrage just in case Mizuki started getting suspicious.

With the plan set up, Hiruzen took Naruto out of the office and to a location in the building where the blond could practice his new jutsu in secret, where it only took about an hour for Naruto to learn how to create shadow clones since it was a fairly simple technique but it was used rarely and labeled a forbidden jutsu due to the insane chakra requirements that could kill the user and, at roughly 10:00 PM, Naruto met up with me and my Anbu unit on top of the Hokage monument while I was dressed up in my Anbu uniform and wearing my replacement wolf mask.

"Alright, Naruto, are you ready? Lord Hokage won't report the scroll's "theft" until we are out of the village," I said and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ready and I'll be moving at top speed to make it look more convincing to Mizuki so will your friends be able to keep up?" Naruto inquired before I chuckled warmly.

"Don't worry, these five are the fastest in terms of speed so they should be able to keep up as long as you move at a reasonable pace," I assured before I retrieved a large scroll from inside a seal and added, "Here, this is the fake scroll of sealing and it contains a trap seal that will tie up whoever activates it, so try and get Mizuki to inspect it to make his capture easier."

"Okay, let's go!" Naruto declared after strapping the large scroll on his back before leaping off the monument and rushing for the rendezvous point, then I signaled my unit to follow before we stayed right behind Naruto at a reasonable distance.

Normally, it would take two hours to reach the checkpoint house on foot, but with Naruto's speed, we made it there in half an hour as my unit and I hid before Naruto approached the house and stopped in front of it.

"Mizuki-sensei, I got the scroll!" Naruto called out and the man in question left the house, looking fully armed and equipped with two giant shurikens on his back.

"Well done, Naruto, now bring it here and I'll make sure it's the real thing just in case you decided to create a fake for the test," Mizuki instructed before Naruto smiled.

"I've got no problem with that, sensei," Naruto said as he unslung the fake scroll and handed it to Mizuki, who grinned widely and took the scroll before greedily ripping it open until it revealed a large seal formula that began to glow before doing...nothing, causing Naruto, me, and my unit to facepalm with a collective sweatdrop since it looked like whoever did the seal was out of practice.

"Wait, what the hell is this?! So, you thought you could lure me out here before capturing and killing me?! Not going to happen, you little demon!" Mizuki roared in outrage with a look of fury after he threw the fake scroll away and took out the two shurikens that were strapped to his back.

"Uh, actually, I didn't make that seal because someone working for the Hokage did it, which goes to show that I should never trust seals that uncle Jiraiya didn't make himself...oh well so, Wolf, a little help?" Naruto suggested with a deadpan look, then I signaled the rest of my unit to move in and we dropped down around Mizuki with our weapons drawn and pointed at him, making the man freeze at that.

"Chunin Mizuki, you are hereby placed under arrest for the attempted theft of a leaf relic, the attempted murder of a leaf shinobi, and conspiracy to commit treason so drop your weapons and keep your hands where we can see them or we will use force," I warned stoically as I stood between Naruto and the traitorous chunin, causing Mizuki to drop the shurikens and raise his hands in a placating manner.

"Whoa, let's take it easy here, Wolf! Can't you see that I was just here to stop Naruto from leaving with the scroll?! The demon was probably going to use its power to regain its other half and finish what it started twelve years ago by destroying the village!" Mizuki exclaimed defensively, then my eyes became hard as stone from hearing the lie that came out of his mouth.

"Genin Naruto Uzumaki and shinobi Seth Mercer reported your earlier conversation to Lord Hokage, who ordered young Naruto to deliver this fake scroll to you to determine your intentions with it and, judging by your equipment, you are planning to leave the village...Hawk, search him," I ordered and the Anbu operative with the hawk mask stepped forward to quickly strip Mizuki of all his weapons and pouches before searching them

From what I could see, there were mostly just ninja tools and travel supplies, as well as a copy of one of Jiraiya's Icha Icha books until Hawk finished his search by looking through the inside pockets of Mizuki's chunin vest.

"Captain, I've found a letter and a forehead protector bearing the insignia of the hidden sound village," Hawk informed me, handing the items in question to me and I frowned before I activated my Sharingan to check the letter for any traps, then I was satisfied when I didn't find anything and opened the envelope to read the letter that was inside until I looked up at Mizuki.

"Well, looks like we get to add aiding a known enemy to the leaf to your list of charges since this letter is from Orochimaru and, based on the contents, you have been in correspondence for quite some time.

Take Mizuki into custody and escort him to T&I, where they'll get the information out of him," I said to the other members of my unit, who proceeded to arrest Mizuki by cuffing his wrists while the now ex-chunin started glaring at me furiously.

"You want to know why I did it?! The answer is right behind you because that damn demon and its other half walk the same streets as those they tried to destroy when they were one being! They eat our food, breathe our air, and pollutes this village with their very presence so don't you see they already infected the Hokage and the council?! I wasn't about to stay and let them infect me too!" Mizuki ranted before I silenced him by grabbing his vest collar and yanking him forward.

"Shut up, Naruto and Seth have proven to be more honest ninja than you will ever be since they have done nothing to hurt this village and would go out of their way to help the victims of the Ninetails attack, even if they weren't the ones responsible so the next time I hear another word about them come out of your mouth, I will personally ensure that you won't see the inside of a courtroom because I'll kill you myself," I threatened coldly with my Sharingan warping to the Mangekyo stage.

After sending a concentrated burst of killing intent at Mizuki, he shuddered and fainted before one of the members of my unit slung him over his shoulder and I signaled them to get ready to leave before I looked at Naruto.

"Naruto, I'll report everything to the Hokage so you should go home," I instructed and Naruto nodded.

"Thanks, dad...man, I knew Mizuki didn't like me, but I'm a bit surprised that he hated me so much," Naruto admitted before I sighed.

"Don't listen to him since people like Mizuki will say anything to put the odds into their favor and their words are usually just them blowing hot air, now run along home since Sasuke is waiting for us to come back," I said as Naruto smiled at me, then he took off back home while I headed to the Hokage's office to hand in my report until I later came back home with a promotion to jonin before I had a nice dinner with Naruto and Sasuke until I went to bed and entered my mindscape to find Kurama lazing in the large field with a content look until he saw me.

**"So, Naruto and the Uchiha boy are full-fledged ninjas now and I have to admit, it was pretty amusing to see that silver-haired traitor piss himself before passing out,"** Kurama told me with a chuckle and I smirked.

"Yeah, though he deserves more than me scaring him into unconsciousness since anyone who tries to hurt my son is going to learn a painful lesson," I stated seriously until Kurama began frowning thoughtfully.

**"Still, are you certain that what you and the old monkey have planned will work? Something like what you two have come up with has never happened before in the shinobi system so those certain pansy asses in the council will bitch about it,"** Kurama pointed out and I scoffed.

"Let those assholes complain since I couldn't give a damn what they think and, what the Hokage and I have in mind, it should work theoretically," I said logically.

**"Well, more power to you then so have fun with it," **Kurama told me before I started looking hesitant and the giant fox gazed at me inquisitively.

"Hey...I wanted to ask you something and don't laugh, but is it alright if I...laid down against you?" I asked awkwardly, causing Kurama to do a double-take at that.

**"Excuse me?" **Kurama questioned in complete confusion while I cringed.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything like that, I just wanted to do it because I haven't done anything like that ever since my dog died when I was a kid and I never had my parents get another canine companion after that," I admitted nervously, then Kurama sent me a deadpan look.

**"So, in other words, you want me to be your pillow, correct?" **Kurama asked dryly before I started grimacing.

"I'm sorry, this is stupid and I shouldn't have asked you so I'm gonna go," I said uncomfortably as I was about to leave my mindscape, only Kurama sighed and he held up a hand to stop me.

**"Get over here,"** Kurama said as he gestured at the area next to him and I froze.

"Hey, you don't need to accept for my sake if this is making you uncomfortable," I pointed out before Kurama narrowed his eyes at me.

**"Just do it before I change my mind and say nothing to anyone about this because I still have a reputation to protect," **Kurama insisted sternly, making me walk over to his side tentatively until I laid down against him as Kurama stared down at me.

"Thanks...you didn't have to do this for me," I said with a small smile and Kurama huffed.

**"Just don't drool on me and we're good," **Kurama muttered before he looked away.

I enjoyed laying against Kurama while my eyes were closed before a fluffy thing went around me, then I opened my eyes and looked to see one of the giant fox's tails covering me like a blanket and smiled as I enjoyed his soft and lush fur before my eyes drooped and I drifted off to sleep, not noticing a strange look in Kurama's eyes as he gazed out at the mountains that were in the distance.

* * *

A/N Hey, hope you liked that nice moment between Seth and Kurama at the end and something is going on with the giant fox so what could it be I wonder? Either way, things have changed in a big way with Sasuke no longer desiring revenge and wanting justice instead and, I know you won't like this, but I'm going to keep the team placements canon since I want to work on Sakura and the other characters more and the pinkette won't be a useless fangirl anymore thanks to the changes that had been implemented in the academy while it helped her get over her obsession with Sasuke.

As for the others, they were motivated to work harder because of it so they'll have their moments as the story goes on so, let me know what you think and stay tuned.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter and in this one, the introduction of Konohamaru will go differently since he won't be taught...ugh, that jutsu and I think the sexy jutsu is very offensive to women in general so I'm sure as hell not going to put that in, now what I will do is have Seth and Naruto teach him the shadow clone jutsu and the dangers that come with it while the bell test will go a bit differently this time now that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were taught the importance of teamwork because of the academy's new system so let's begin.

* * *

"Kid, are you sure that this is what you want for your ID?" the photographer asked and Naruto nodded while I rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll turn out just fine and Sasuke's went okay," I assured and the man shrugged before getting his camera set up.

"Okay then, though he looks nice in my opinion so the photo will turn out okay," the man admitted before he got under the cover and I stepped out of the way before the man took a photo of Naruto showing a small neutral smile while he wore his forehead protector and dark shinobi clothes with small burnt orange stripes on them.

After that, Naruto and I went into a room where the Hokage and another chunin was waiting before Hiruzen studied the graduation photo with a critical eye while we waited for his response until a few minutes had gone by and Naruto fidgeted a little from being bored.

"So, what do you think? At first, I couldn't figure out how I wanted to look in the photo until dad helped by suggesting I tried something simple so that got me to come up with the idea to look neutral and wear dark shinobi clothing to make myself look like an actual ninja," Naruto explained while resting his hands on the back of his head.

"Yeah, Naruto wanted to paint his face white with red swirls before doing a pose while he also didn't want to have his forehead protector on, but I quickly shot that idea down since he's a ninja now and he needs to take this seriously," I added with a chuckle as I smile sheepishly, then Hiruzen eventually nodded and placed the photo down before looking at us.

"Well, it's a nice photo so good job, now we'll get your ID worked out and you should have it shortly," Hiruzen said before I heard a slight noise just outside, then the door slid open and a familiar kid burst in with a dull shuriken.

"Old man, I challenge you! I'm going to defeat you and become the fifth Hokage!" the kid declared as he charged at Hiruzen, then he suddenly tripped and faceplanted onto the floor with a yelp before the rest of us sweatdropped and I rubbed my eyes to quell a headache.

_'Dammit Konohamaru, again? This has to be, what, the third time this week he attempted to attack his grandfather?' _I thought in exasperation while Kurama chuckled amusingly.

**_"I have to admit, the little brat's tenacious,"_** Kurama commented as Konohamaru rolled onto his side and whimpered while clutching his face, then his tutor Ebisu came running in and gasped when he saw Konohamaru on the floor before the kid sat up with a scowl.

"Ugh, something tripped me!" Konohamaru complained and Ebisu looked around before regaining his attention on the kid.

"Are you okay, honorable grandson? Um, by the way, there's nothing here for you to trip on since it's pretty flat," Ebisu pointed out awkwardly as he adjusted his shades, then I tapped Naruto's shoulder and subtly signaled for us to go before something else happened but it was too late when Konohamaru noticed us and marched over to point at Naruto.

"All right, you're the one who tripped me, aren't you?!" Konohamaru accused loudly and Naruto scowled at that before I cleared my throat to get Konohamaru's attention.

"Excuse me, he was all the way over here when you tripped so it's pretty rude accusing someone like that without proof, now you need to apologize for being rude," I lectured sternly before Ebisu gaped at that.

"Do you know who you're talking to?! That's the honorable grandson of the honorable third Hokage so watch your mouth and show some respect!" Ebisu shouted and I was the one who also started scowling as I glared at him.

"What's the matter, huh? I thought you were going to teach me a lesson, tough guy, so are you afraid because the third Hokage's my grandfather?" Konohamaru challenged me before I proceeded to bop him on the head for being a brat while Kurama burst out laughing and Ebisu started twitching with his mouth hanging open.

"I couldn't care less if he's your grandfather, that kind of attitude is unacceptable and you need to learn how to respect your betters because talking to someone in such a manner is going to get you in so much trouble," I scolded before I took Naruto out of the room, then we left the building after that.

Pretty soon, we continued walking and I had a feeling someone was following us as I subtly signaled to Naruto about it, then he signaled back that he understood before we looked behind us to see what might've been a rock, but it was the feet poking out from under it and how wrinkled the poorly disguise was that made us stare at it dryly.

_'Seriously, doesn't that kid have anything better to do than follow us?' _I thought unamusingly before Naruto and I continued walking after that.

I heard the faint sound of Konohamaru following us again and failing at being quiet until I had enough and spun around, then I proceeded to sweatdrop at seeing the kid failing to hide by using a cloth that mimicked the wooden fence before I quickly walked over and ripped the cloth out of Konohamaru's hands while he let out a startled yelp as I dropped the cloth and crossed my arms.

"Nice try, but I'm a former Anbu captain and currently a jonin so you'll have to do better than that if you want to sneak up on me, though I'll have to give you an A for effort," I stated stoically and Konohamaru started chuckling.

"Saw through my disguise, huh? You're good, so the rumors about you are true," Konohamaru said before he pointed at me and Naruto as he added, "All right, I'll be your apprentice and you'll be my trainers."

"Huh?" Naruto let out while he and I were staring at him like he had two heads.

"And afterward, you've got to teach me a really cool jutsu," Konohamaru added while I blinked at that and started twitching.

"Are you serious right now? Kid, Naruto's going to be in a team and I'll be leading my own soon, so we won't have time to teach you anything," I protested while holding my hands up to empathize with what I said.

"Come on, I need a new trainer so please boss, sensei," Konohamaru begged and that got our attention.

_'How the hell is Naruto the boss and I'm the sensei?'_ I thought in disbelief and Naruto agreed suddenly, making me do a double-take until I sighed and decided to get it over with since the kid would never leave us alone either way until we agreed before we walked together.

"Alright, you want to become a very good ninja, then you need to focus on controlling your chakra first before you get started on learning jutsu, so let me and dad explain what chakra is-" Naruto said until he was cut off.

"Chakra is the elemental life energy that is used to perform jutsu, where the ninja arts combine physical energy from each cell in the body with mystical energy, which is intensified through training and experience.

When these two chakra mixes, special hand signs allow the ninja to focus this combined energy for advanced jutsu," Konohamaru explained and I was surprised by how knowledgable he was, then I saw that he was reading from a scroll and face-faulted at that before I got up and clear my throat.

"Listen up, you can talk about ninja techniques all you want but what it really comes down to is hard work and determination because you'll never get anywhere in life if you don't work for it," I stated and Konohamaru nodded.

"Okay, I get it," Konohamaru said eagerly while I smiled at that.

"Good, now pay close attention because we're going to teach you a jutsu that can only be achieved by working on your chakra control, so are you ready?" Naruto asked before Konohamaru grinned.

"I'm ready!" Konohamaru declared excitingly.

"All right, now watch closely," I said before I conjured up a single shadow clone and Konohamaru's eyes widened.

"Whoa, is that the shadow clone jutsu gramps uses?" Konohamaru questioned, then I nodded as I dispelled the clone.

"Correct, it's a technique where it can save your life in dire situations and you receive the knowledge of each clone once they are dispelled, but it also has a big drawback because of the amount of chakra that's used to create one and that's why it had been declared a forbidden jutsu because of how dangerous it could be if you're not careful with it," I explained while Konohamaru paid attention.

"So, you and boss are going to be teaching me that?" Konohamaru inquired.

"Well, first we have to see if you can conjure up a simple clone first before we can get started with the next level, so try and summon a clone," Naruto instructed, then Konohamaru proceeded to channel his chakra and summon a simple clone that was laying on the floor looking completely dead before it poofed away while I watched with a critical eye and stroked my chin thoughtfully until I could see what the problem is.

"Alright, your technique is good but it's your chakra control that we need to work on a little more, so come with us because there is a wooded area in the village where we can continue without interruptions," I said before we continued walking after that.

* * *

Later on, we encountered many people who were very polite to Konohamaru while also warning him to stay away from us while Naruto and I got glared at by them until we arrived at a park and had Konohamaru work on his chakra control a little more before Naruto started looking troubled by something.

"Hey, why is everyone always so nice to you?" Naruto asked in confusion, then Konohamaru frowned irritably.

"Ugh, it's because I'm the grandson of the Third Hokage and it's so annoying," Konohamaru grumbled before I patted him on the shoulder to reassure him.

"Hey, don't let it get to you so much because now that we helped you with your chakra control, it's time to teach you how to use the shadow clone jutsu but, before that, you need to focus on the clone jutsu first before you can get started on something so advanced," I assured and Konohamaru looked surprised until he smiled in determination.

"Right, I'm ready sensei, boss," Konohamaru agreed until we got started and a few hours had gone by before we decided to take a little break and sat on a log while sipping from our cans of soda.

"I've been meaning to ask you, but why are you so determined to become Hokage that badly?" I questioned curiously and Konohamaru looked down while frowning at nothing in particular.

"My grandfather named me Konohamaru after the ancient name of the village so it should be easy to remember but no one calls me that name, not one person in the whole village and that's because when they look at me, they don't really see me and all they see is the "honorable grandson" of the lord Hokage.

No one knows who I am and I can't stand it anymore since it's like I'm invisible, like I don't exist and I hate that so that's the reason why I have to become Hokage now so people will know who I am," Konohamaru explained with his voice filled with frustration and I felt sorry for him.

_'Poor kid, he wants to become Hokage so people will acknowledge him as a person, something Naruto and I know all too well,' _I thought sympathetically while Naruto looked thoughtful.

"Hey, you think people are going to accept you just like that? A kid your age just can't become Hokage after a day or two because it's not that simple...you keep saying that you want to become Hokage but you know what you have to do to achieve that title?" Naruto commented and Konohamaru looked at him.

"What is it?" Konohamaru asked before Naruto smiled at him.

"You have to earn it by proving yourself through hard work and determination," Naruto stated and we continued chatting for a little bit until I picked up someone arriving behind us, then I looked back to see it was Ebisu while he was perched on a tree branch until Naruto and Konohamaru looked behind us to see what I was staring at.

"I found you," Ebisu announced while he glared down at me and Naruto coldly, then he jumped down and landed onto the ground while we got up and turned to face him.

"So, honorable grandson, time to go home," Ebisu said before Konohamaru glared at him.

"No way, I'm learning how to beat my grandfather so that I can get the title of Hokage, now don't get in my way!" Konohamaru shouted defiantly and Ebisu chuckled amusingly while he started approaching us.

"Come now, a Hokage is more than just a fighter, he must know honor, virtue, wisdom, and he must be skilled in a thousand jutsu while you don't even know one jutsu," Ebisu lectured while I scowled at how condescending he sounded as Konohamaru growled and correctly summoned a single shadow clone before he started gasping and rested his hands on his knees.

"How...about...now?" Konohamaru wheezed while Ebisu gawked at him before he started holding his head in horror.

"Honorable grandson, where did you learn that?! The shadow clone jutsu was labeled forbidden by the Second Hokage for a reason because of how dangerous it is if you're not careful with it, so stop this right now since it is obvious that Naruto and Seth are putting you into a reckless situation that will get you killed, now only my special training can put you on the fast track to becoming Hokage!" Ebisu exclaimed incredulously as he ran over and grabbed Konohamaru before trying to drag him away, then he started struggling with the kid as I cleared my throat.

"Hey, there is no fast track to becoming Hokage and we are not getting him into anything because he's the one who approached us for training and we agreed to it before teaching him the dangers of how to use the shadow clone jutsu, so don't accuse us of being bad teachers since you're not exactly a good one either," I stated irritably, causing Ebisu to let go of Konohamaru before he stormed up to me with a glare.

"Excuse me?" Ebisu questioned darkly as he got into my face, only I didn't back down from the challenge.

"You don't even see him as a person, just nothing more as a symbol of the Third Hokage, don't you?" I retorted and Ebisu showed that he didn't like that by trying to hit me with a fast strike to the face, only I redirected it and kicked him back a few feet.

"Nice try, but you only proved my point in showing just how arrogant you are by not even taking simple criticism well," I lectured coldly with my eyes hard as stone.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto declared before thousands of clones appeared all around us and it caused Ebisu to widen his eyes in shock as he quickly looked around.

"W-What?! This is impossible so how did you do that?!" Ebisu exclaimed in disbelief while Konohamaru looked amazed.

"Because of his enormous chakra reserves, Naruto can summon more clones than anyone else in the village," I explained before Ebisu managed to regain himself by shaking his head and chuckling.

"While it is impressive, I am a Jonin so watch as a real ninja defeats an upstart," Ebisu stated as he got ready, then I decided to step in by also conjuring a few dozen shadow clones until Ebisu started looking less confident.

"If I were you, I'd leave unless you want to test how skilled you are against the two of us," I said as Ebisu started sweating at the odds being put against him and the killer intent I was sending him until he huffed.

"Very well, you've won this time but we're not finished," Ebisu grumbled before he reluctantly left and the clones dispelled as the sun started setting, then Konohamaru gritted his teeth as his clone poofed away.

"Oh man, I could barely stand after summoning that clone...I want to be Hokage so bad, but how can I if that's going to happen from now on and why can't I do it?!" Konohamaru complained in frustration, then I sighed as I walked over and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's not that easy because the Hokage is known as the wisest and experienced shinobi in the entire village, so you won't be able to achieve the title in just a few days since it takes years before you can reach that point, not to mention that you have to prove yourself that you're worthy of gaining that title or no one will ever take you seriously," I told him as Konohamaru looked up at me and Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Dad's right and look at us, we've been through a lot already and after going through so much, we found people who believe in us and before that...we had to go through many trials throughout our lives so you better get ready," Naruto added.

"For what?" Konohamaru asked and I smiled at him.

"For many struggles as you grow up and learn to be a ninja since it'll be a hard road for you before you become Hokage," I answered as I removed my hand from Konohamaru's shoulder, the kid looking surprised before he frowned and turned away from us.

"Ha, who do you guys think you are anyway, giving me a big lecture like that? That's it, I'm not going to be your apprentice anymore because from now on, we're rivals!" Konohamaru declared firmly until he looked back and grinned at us with a chuckle while Naruto and I smiled back at him.

"Well, we can't be your trainers anyway since I'm going to be placed on a team and dad will be leading his, so we're going to be a bit busy but we accept your challenge and, someday, you and I will fight for the title of Hokage...so let's look forward to that day, Konohamaru," Naruto stated with a soft smile as Konohamaru looked stunned, then Naruto and I started walking away and raised our hands in a gesture of goodbye.

_"You know something, Kurama, I believe that kid's going to go far in life and I also believe that Naruto will become Hokage one day," _I told the giant fox, who hummed in response.

**_"When he does, he'll be the most interesting Hokage I've seen before," _**Kurama commented with a chuckle as Naruto and I headed home to get ready for tomorrow with Sasuke.

* * *

Tomorrow morning, I got dressed in my jonin uniform with the green flak jacket before spending most of the morning doing some preparations for the test until I met up with Kakashi and we headed to the academy, arriving at the classroom and opening the door before seeing Naruto perking up while Sasuke sent me a nod and a girl with short pink hair looked at us in confusion.

"Dad, what are you doing here with Kakashi?" Naruto asked curiously, then I smiled while scratching the back of my head.

"I'm here because the Hokage and I have been talking and decided to do a little experiment by pairing two jonin senseis together on a genin team to see if mission performance will become more successful, but enough about that since we should get the proper introductions out of the way so meet us up on the roof in 30 seconds," I said before Kakashi and I body-flickered up to the roof and waited until the three genins quickly arrived before 30 seconds were up and sat down.

"All right everyone, let's begin introductions so I'll go first. My name is Kakashi Hatake...things I like and things I hate, I don't feel like telling you that while dreams for the future, never really thought about that and, as for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies," Kakashi said unhelpfully while the rest of us sweatdropped.

_'Yeah, real informative there, Kakashi,' _I thought dryly and Kurama snickered amusingly as I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Okay, now it's my turn so my name is Seth Mercer and my likes are hanging out with my sons and helping them get stronger while my dislikes are close-mindedness, dishonesty, and criminal behavior. My hobbies are photography, cooking, reading, and physical fitness while my dream for the future...is to live life with no regrets," I introduced calmly while the others looked at me before Kakashi returned his attention to the genin in front of us.

"Well, that was a nice introduction so why don't you guys start?" Kakashi encouraged before Naruto smiled.

"Sure, I'm Naruto Uzumaki and my likes are my dad, gardening, and training while my dislikes are people who see me and dad as monsters without getting to know us, those who think they are better than others, and bullies.

As for my hobbies, it's training to get stronger, pulling pranks to make people laugh, and discover more about my family history while my dream is to become Hokage and prove to the village that dad and I are not the monsters they think we are," Naruto said as he rested his hands on the back of his head.

"Interesting, next," I said before the girl with pink hair nodded.

"I'm Sakura Haruno, my likes are people who take things more seriously and overcome their weaknesses, my dislikes are those who mistreat people who are different while my hobbies are to get stronger so that I won't be weak and also help those in need.

As for my dream, I wish to become a ninja as strong as the legendary Tsunade herself," Sakura stated with a serious expression, making me surprised to hear that since I was expecting something different.

"All right, last one," Kakashi commented before Sasuke looked up at us.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, my likes are tomatoes and my friends, my dislikes are those who seek to hurt those I care about, and my dream is to one day bring my clan's murderer to justice," Sasuke introduced, then Kakashi and I nodded meaningfully while I was glad to help him recover from his trauma for the past few years as I clapped my hands together.

"Well, now that we've gotten the introductions out of the way, it's time to explain what you'll be doing next tomorrow...what'll happen is that you'll be doing a survival exercise, a test to prove that you are ready to become ninja but bear in mind that we won't go easy on you just because you're kids and what you need to understand is that this test is a make it or break-it exercise that has a 66% chance of failure," I explained, causing the three genins to tense up before they narrowed their eyes in determination.

"We won't fail," Naruto stated before Kakashi and I looked squarely at him.

"We would hope so because if you do fail...well, you can forget becoming ninja again," Kakashi empathized seriously.

"All right, meet us at training ground seven at five in the morning tomorrow and make sure not to eat breakfast because you'll throw up," I added until Kakashi and I body-flickered away until I arrived home.

Before I knew it, it was the next day while I had met up with Kakashi and we headed to training ground seven until we arrived to find the three genins waiting for us while Naruto looked bored, Sakura looked impatient, and Sasuke looked stoic as they spotted us.

"You're late," Sakura pointed out with a scowl, then Kakashi smiled behind his mask with his uncovered eye closing.

"Well, a black cat crossed our path so we had to take a long way around," Kakashi commented and the rest of us sweatdropped.

_**"That has to be the worst lie I have ever heard of in my long life and I've heard plenty," **_Kurama remarked dryly as I scratched the back of my neck in embarrassment, then I noticed that the three genins looked focused and wide awake while I also didn't hear their stomachs growling.

"Anyway, let's get started and I see that you ignored our instructions to not eat breakfast, as well as get up early," I pointed out with an arched brow before Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, the academy taught us that not everything is as it seems and that a ninja must see through deception, so we talked and came to the conclusion that you guys telling us not to eat breakfast and to get up early was a way to make us weak during the test," Naruto explained, and I was impressed that he and the other two genins were able to figure it out.

"Not bad," I complimented as Kakashi headed over to one of the three wooden posts and placed a timer on it before starting it and taking out two bells with rope tied at the ends.

"Here we go, it's set for noon and your assignment is very simple, just take these bells from us and that's all there is to it.

If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch and will be tied to those posts before being forced to watch while we eat our lunch in front of you," Kakashi said as he handed me one of the bells and kept the other while Sakura looked puzzled.

"Excuse me, there are three of us and only two bells so why is that?" Sakura asked in confusion until I sent her a foxy grin while Kakashi and I tied the bells to our waists.

"Well, that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately be disqualified for failing to complete the exercise, then that person will be sent back to the academy...although, all three of you could quit if you can't handle it.

You are also allowed to use any weapon during this exercise, even shuriken because you won't be able to get the bells if you don't come after us with lethal force. Now, when we say start, you may begin," I explained as the three genins looked to be getting ready.

" Get ready, and...start!" Kakashi instructed before everything kicked off from there.

Naruto conjured a single shadow clone that started attacking us and we quickly defended ourselves as the three genins had been given an opening to flee into the forest, then I zipped around to dispel the clone with a fast and vicious strike to the back before Kakashi and I started searching for them in the forest while I wondered what Naruto and the other genin will do next.

Pretty soon, the entire forest became filled from top to bottom with shadow clones that had transformed into carnivorous animals like dogs, bears, foxes, and wolves before Kakashi and I were forced to evade thousands of gnashing teeth and claws that would badly injure us until nine brown tails formed from Kurama's chakra and I began whacking clones away from us with my tails, as well as pulling out my sword to slice and stab any transformed clone that got too close while Kakashi also used a kunai to defend himself.

I knew that each clone was only as strong as the average bandit or civilian guard, but the sheer number of them and our reluctance to use high-level jutsu on a genin gave me and Kakashi no choice but to retreat back to the posts and as soon as we were out of the forest, all the clones dispelled and shrouded the area in smoke.

Kakashi and I let out sighs of relief and relaxed slightly as my tails shrank back into my spine, only we were immediately forced to react when thousands of shuriken came out of the trees and it made me put up an earth wall to block the lethal attack, then we were taken completely off guard when a few shurikens poofed back into more Narutos and they attacked us with fast and deadly slashes with kunai.

"Crap, when did Naruto come up with something like that?!" Kakashi exclaimed in disbelief as he conjured four shadow clones to assist us until I sensed Sakura and Sasuke gathering chakra.

"On our six!" I alerted urgently before a hail of fire and razor blades came roaring out of the forest at us.

I was forced to roll out of the way before I found myself dodging and blocking attacks from Naruto and a few clones as Sasuke and Sakura's attacks collided into the earth wall before causing an explosion until I formed my tails again and sent them flying by swinging all my tails before Sasuke came out of nowhere and went to grab my bell.

My eyes widened as I grabbed and threw him away while Sakura showed up with a kunai to attack me before I pulled out my own and we clashed with our own kunai as the blades struck each other several times until Sakura suddenly jumped back, making me confused at first before I noticed something missing from my waist and my eyes bugged out in shock when I saw that my bell was gone and Kakashi was frantically patting his sides as Naruto grinned and Sasuke smirked until they held up the two bells.

"Well, looks like you got the bells, so now what are you going to do with them?" Kakashi asked before Naruto chuckled.

"Sensei, the true meaning of the bell test wasn't to get the bells but for us to work together so that we could successfully complete the objective, and I believe we passed," Naruto stated with a mischievous smile, impressing me and I could see Kakashi nodding.

"And you are correct so good work figuring out the true purpose of this exercise and congratulations because you pass, so Team Seven is now official," I said proudly, then Naruto cheered loudly while Sakura and Sasuke smiled at their victory.

"Before we go and celebrate, we want to show you something," Kakashi said before he walked over to a familiar stone statue in the shape of a kunai blade, and my good mood faded as the rest of us followed him until we stood in front of it.

"Look at this stone...do you see the names engraved on it? They belonged to the ninjas who are honored as heroes in our village," I said solemnly as my mood changed to sorrow and Sakura's eyes widened.

"Sensei, you said that those names belonged to the ninjas of our village so are you saying that..." Sakura trailed off but I stared at the stone and didn't look back.

"Yes, this is a memorial stone to honor those who are are all KIA with some of them still MIA, but the bodies were never recovered so their names are carved here to never forget their sacrifice for the leaf village...some of my closest friends' names are engraved here.

We want to show you this so that you realize just how life-threatening a ninja career could be and a friend of mine once said that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than trash so never forget that for as long as you live," Kakashi said quietly as a gentle breeze hit us, causing the others to nod.

"We won't, sensei," Sasuke accepted as I gazed at Minato and Kushina's names on the stone and sent a single smile at the names before I turned around and started beaming.

"Well, now that you all passed, your first mission starts tomorrow so be prepared for that but, for now, let's celebrate," I declared until we all started leaving the training grounds and I had a feeling that things were going to get interesting down the road.

* * *

A/N Oh Seth, you have no idea, and hello everyone, another chapter is done and you can see how much everything has changed because of Seth's presence and, I know it's been done so many times, but the wave arc is next and I've been trying to come up with a title for Seth in the bingo book since he's bound to have gotten his name put in the bingo book during his ninja career, so tell me what kind of title Seth should have that fits him since I want it to be unique.

Well, let me know what you think, and stay tuned since the fight with Zabuza will be similar to Naruto and Sasuke's fight against Momoshiki in Boruto.


End file.
